Shield of Fear
by Meldirieth
Summary: The balance between Good and Evil is broken on Dedalion and people live in constant fear. To defeat his enemy the Doctor will have to listen to his hearts. 6th story of "The Lonely Star" series.
1. Chapter 1

**Part I**

**Untouchable**

_The night had fallen and Damon Conrall, the Katriax leader, hastened to return home, when a sound left him frozen: it was the fearsome howl of the wolves of the forest. How had he come to the forest? He had to go back to town to be safe from the wolves. Damon ran as fast as he could until he reached the edge of a precipice and could not go further. It was dark, he could barely see, but this was no obstacle for the wolves of the forest, which in just seconds_ _they caught their frightened prey up and devoured him._

"Damon, Damon, wake up!"

In the house of the Conralls, Xandra tried unsuccessfully to wake her husband up, whose body was shaking in his sleep as if he was having a nightmare.

"Damon, it's just a dream, wake up!" the woman said again.

Damon stopped shaking during sleep, in fact, Damon even stopped breathing. The Katriax leader had died victim of his own nightmare.

"I was late," said an old woman of golden hair and dressed in a robe of the same colour beside the bed of the Conralls. "Forgive me, Xandra."

Xandra did not know who the woman was or how she had come into their house.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a cloudy day: it had to be midday, but the clouds hid the sun completely. That did not have to be anything special if it were not because there was something unusual in the atmosphere ... something scary. It was an atmosphere of fear.

The travellers left their ship and instantly noticed how they got goose pimples. A cautious traveller would have returned to his ship to change the destination, but the Doctor wanted to know why the fear reigned on that planet.

"Where are we?" Sarah Jane Smith asked.

"On Dedalion," replied the Doctor.

"I'm not quiet, I don't see anyone around here."

"We have landed on the outskirts of the town; perhaps there we will just find someone who can tell us what is going on here."

"Does this planet has not always been so unsettling?" Sarah asked.

"No. I've already been here a few years ago and believe me, it was very different."

"What for you have been only a few years may actually have been a few centuries. In all that time many things could have happened."

"Maybe, but this is not normal, and you know it."

Sarah said nothing. The Doctor was right, that unpleasant atmosphere could not be typical of any planet inhabited by people, and that was what they were going to do: looking for the People of Dedalion.

They had been walking just a couple of minutes when they heard the crying of a child and followed that sound expecting that it does not takes them directly to a death trap. That ominous atmosphere made them expect the worst. What they found was a small child about four years old sitting on the ground and crying. His hair was golden like the robe he wore. That did not correspond with any of the races of men who inhabited Dedalion, or at least none that the Doctor knew.

"Hello," the Doctor said kneeling down beside the small boy. "Are you lost?"

The small boy was still crying. It seemed that neither the child nor the two adults who were with him were aware of the presence of a black 'smoke' that watched them closely.

"Come on, don't cry. Would you like a jelly baby?"

The Doctor gave him a jelly baby, and the child began to laugh.

"That is, good boy. I give you the bag, but eat them gradually; I don't want your mother scold me."

"Speaking of the mother, we should look for her," Sara said.

"Yes, let's go to town, maybe we find her there."

The Doctor stood up and took the child in his arms, who was still laughing and playing with his bag of jelly babies. The black smoke hid underground.

Sarah smiled to see the Doctor with the child.

"You are good with kids," she said.

"Do you think so?"

"Doctor, do you have children?" the girl asked.

"Come on, Sarah," he said without answering the question.


	3. Chapter 3

Sarah and the Doctor, with the golden-haired child in his arms, were heading to town when a young woman with golden hair and golden robe appeared before them. Neither of them had seen her coming. Neither of them had heard her approaching.

"Kieran," she said to see the boy. "I told you don't move away from me, you had me worried, you know how dangerous that is."

"Is this your son?" the Doctor asked her, although it was clear that at least they belonged to the same race. "We've found him in that clearing, crying scared."

The woman took the child in her arms.

"Kieran, I told you that whatever happens don't cry," the woman looked at the Doctor and Sarah. "Forgive my manners. My name is Anya, and I thank you for finding my son, and also for having managed him to stop cry."

"Not at all," the Doctor said. "I am the Doctor and she is Sarah Jane Smith. What's going on here?"

"Where are you going?" Anya asked. "You are not from here. If you are tourists I suggest you return home."

"We are not tourists. We came here to investigate what is happening. We headed to town. What territory are we?"

"You are in the territory of the Katriax. Come on, I will go with you."

"You know what's going on here, right Anya? You are not from here either," said the Doctor as they walked briskly.

"Yes, I am from here. My species inhabits every inhabited planet," the young woman said.

"What race are you? What happens on this planet? Are your people involved in any way in this?"

"My people are trying to help, but to defeat our enemy we need the people don't get carried away by fear, anguish, lie ... We have come to town."

They had come almost without realizing. The Doctor and Sarah stared at the Katriax town: it was a ghost town, they hardly saw anyone.

"Where are the people?" Sarah Jane asked. "Did they run away?"

"No, they are at home, they are afraid to leave the safety of their homes. They only leave to go to work, buy, cultivate their fields... but when they can avoid leaving home, they do."

"How can they live like that?" Sarah asked.

"I would not call it live," the Doctor said.

"Talk to Xandra Conrall. She lives in that blue house there," Anya said. "I am indebted to you for saving my son."

"Saved? He was just lost," Sarah said.

"Good luck. Don't fear and be honest with each other, otherwise you will be vulnerable to their attacks."

"Attacks from whom?" the Doctor asked.

"From the Nightmares," Anya said.

The Doctor and Sarah exchanged a look of surprise and when they wanted to look again at the young woman with the child, they were gone.


	4. Chapter 4

_Xandra was in her bedroom trying to fall asleep, which was difficult considering that _in _just one month she had lost her teenage son and husband. She got out of bed and saw that her beloved husband was by her side._

_"Damon," she said. "How are you here? Is it a dream? It has to be."_

_"It is not a dream, Xandra. I am here with you," he said touching her cheek._

_The woman hugged the man._

_"Oh, Damon. Thank goodness you are here. I feel so alone ..."_

_"You won't be alone never again. Join us," said the leader Katriax._

_Xandra looked up to look at her husband and saw how a hundred of worms coming out of his mouth and nose. Frightened, she tried to get away from the monster that looked like her husband, but he was too strong._

_"Come with us, my love. Let us be a family again," Damon said strangling his wife._

_"Come with us, mother," said the teenager living corpse behind his father._

_"It is not a dream, Xandra. It is a nightmare."_

The Doctor and Sarah came to the blue house. They knocked on the door but no one opened.

"I don't think Mrs. Conrall has left," the Doctor said.

As if it were an answer to their thoughts, the travellers heard a scream from inside the house. The Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to open the door and they went in quickly looking for the woman in danger. They found Xandra Conrall semi-conscious on the kitchen floor, shaking her head from side to side and crying "No! No".

The Doctor approached her and put his hands on both sides of her face.

"Mrs. Conrall, Mrs. Conrall, wake up," he said.

A strange black smoke came out of the open mouth of the Katriax woman, which stood still for a moment in front of the Doctor before dissipating. The Time Lord had the impression that the smoke was watching him. Shortly after, it was a white smoke what came out of her mouth, and like the black smoke, it disappeared.

The Doctor remained still staring at the point where the first smoke was gone, trying to think what kind of beings would be those. The black smoke had looked at him, he had no doubts. Those smoke beings had intelligence.

"Doctor," Sarah's voice returned him to reality. "Doctor, she is alive."

Xandra Conrall was indeed alive, sleeping peacefully on the kitchen floor.

"This is no place to sleep. Let's look for the bedroom," said the Doctor taking the woman in his arms.

They saw an empty bedroom, but it had a small bed and its furniture (a small desk, a miniature gun collection, and comics on the shelves) was typical of a teenage boy, not a grown woman.

"Here is another bedroom, Doctor," Sarah said.

The Doctor put the woman to bed. It was a large bed for a single woman. Mrs. Conrall had husband and a son, but she was home alone. Where had they gone?

In the bedroom there was a bookshelf, a desk, a chair and a small armchair. The Doctor took a couple of poetry books and gave one to Sarah, who was sitting on the armchair as he had told her.

"Adalla Morwal," said the Doctor sitting down on the chair. "She is a very good poetess from this same planet. She belongs to the race of the Ewinder."

While Mrs. Conrall slept, Sarah and the Doctor read books of poetry. After a time, Sarah left the book on the desk and began to fall asleep on the armchair. The Doctor looked at his companion; he got up from the chair, took his jacket off and used it to cover the young girl.

"Try to rest awhile. Don't worry; I think it is safe here."

"I think so too," Sarah said, closing her eyes.

The Doctor took another book from the bookshelf and sat down on the chair.


	5. Chapter 5

When Mrs. Conrall opened her eyes she saw the face of a stranger man with curly hair and big blue eyes looking at her with a smile from ear to ear showing his prominent teeth.

"Good morning, Mrs. Conrall ... or rather good afternoon."

She could not help screaming.

"Okay, okay. I'm a friend. I am the Doctor and this is my assistant Sarah Jane Smith," he said, pointing to the young journalist who was stretching on the armchair.

"Will you tell me what are you doing in my house?" Xandra asked fearing that the Doctor was not as friendly as he said.

The curly-haired stranger smiled at the frightened woman.

Xandra Conrall was a young woman (she was not more than forty years), with the features of the Katriax race: green eyes and black hair, that reached her shoulders. She took her foreign guests to the dining room of the house where she served them fruit juice and sandwiches of tender meat.

"Sorry I cannot offer a better dinner, I was not expecting to have guests," the woman apologized.

"Don't worry, it looks good," said Sarah Jane with her sandwich in hand.

"Mrs. Conrall, do you remember what happened before waking up in your bed?", the Doctor asked.

"I remember I was cleaning the kitchen ... and the next thing I remember was your face," she said thoughtfully.

"Yes, that can be scary," Sarah laughed.

"Didn't you see anyone? Don't you remember the attack?" the Time Lord asked her again.

The Katriax woman shook her head.

"We heard you screaming and found you unconscious on the floor", Sarah said.

"Maybe I fainted ... I have not slept well at night and I have barely eaten for a month since... never mind," Xandra said.

"Tell us about it, Mrs. Conrall. It may be related with what we are investigating," the Doctor said.

"A month ago," Xandra started telling, "Taron, the best friend of my husband and my son hiked the forest. As at dusk they still had not returned my husband and Phil, Taron's elder brother, went to look for them, and what they found there were my dead son and the clothes of Taron torn and bloodstained, but no trace of him." Xandra stopped talking for a moment. The memory was too painful for her. "Shortly after burying Ionas, my son, Phil decided to go to the forest to investigate what had happened there. It took him a whole day to return, with a look of horror on his face that did not disappear until he died that night, endlessly repeating 'The Cave, The Cave' and 'untouchable, untouchable'. We don't know what he saw," Mrs. Conrall paused again to drink her fruit juice. "My husband was the leader of our people, so he decided to get to the bottom of the matter. Three people very close to us had died and could not afford another death occurred, so he, along with a group of volunteers, went into the forest, prepared to get as close as possible to The Cave, a forbidden place, because we believe it is inhabited by evil beings. And it's true: only my husband returned home, talking about a horrible black creature with fire-coloured eyes that one by one was catching and killing all the members of the group of volunteers."

"Where is your husband now, Mrs. Conrall?" asked the Doctor.

"Now comes the final part of my story. Damon, my husband, was ready to kill the creature. He wanted to gather a group of people to go with him, but all the people were afraid to end up dead like the others who accompanied him before. He said he planned to ask for help to the Ewinder and the Narrul. That was last week, but that night my husband had a nightmare from which he didn't wake up. His body shook wildly and I heard him talk about the wolves of the forest."

"Interesting ... The black creature could be a wolf perfectly," said the Doctor.

"Doctor, there are no wolves in the forest. That is what mothers tell our children to prevent them from being lost inside."

"A childhood fear, then," said Sarah Jane.

"An old childhood fear that returns to kill you. In any case, all roads lead to the forest. What's in there?"

"Vegetation, leafy trees ... and beyond, where the trees are not born and there are only rocks, is the entrance to The Cave."

"The home of evil creatures," said the Doctor.

"Maybe you do not believe in it, Doctor, but no one has ever dared to get closer there. One feels uncomfortable near that cave, it is not normal."

"Have you decided to go to The Cave or the forest?" the Doctor asked.

Xandra nodded.

"I took the decision to do what my husband was ready to do: ask for help from the other races of dedalionites to end the life of the creature that has killed my people."

"Mrs. Conrall, you are a very brave woman. You mentioned before the other races: the Ewinder, blue hair and eyes and the Narrul, red hair and brown eyes. Do you know something about the 'golden people'? Golden-haired people who wear robes of the same color," he asked.

"Now that you mention it, yes I do. I saw an old woman of this kind in my house the night that my husband died. I don't know who she was or how she had come; only that she apologized for not being able to save Damon. Before I knew it she was gone."

"We saw a mysterious young woman with a small child. She told us to come and talk to you, she guided us to you when you were being attacked ... she guided us to the Smoke beings."

"Smoke beings? I know nothing of them. Who are the 'golden people'?" the Katriax woman asked.

"I don't know, but they are on our side. Mrs. Conrall, never forget that you are a strong and brave woman. Do not be afraid, and everything will be fine," said the Doctor.

"Thanks, but is not easy to be brave when you have lost your family. I feel so alone ..."

"But you are not alone, Mrs. Conrall," said Sarah Jane putting a hand on her shoulder. "You have friends, people who love you, people who need you. Now that the Katriax people have lost their leader you are the closest thing they have. You must not give up."

Xandra smiled.

"You are right, Sarah. I have to be brave for my family and my people."

"Well said, Mrs. Conrall," the Doctor said.

The Time Lord put on his jacket and hat.

"Where are you going, Doctor?" the woman asked.

"To the forest, specifically to The Cave," he said.

"But it is night, wait at least until dawn."

"Why? I have no fear of the dark," he said coming out the door followed by Sarah. "Good girl, you did well encouraging Mrs. Conrall," he said his companion once outside.

"When she was carried away by the sadness I felt again the fear in the air," said the girl.

"It is possible that the creature and the black smoke beings act together, and they are intelligent. All the people, no … the whole planet is afraid of them, but they are only attacking those which they consider a threat to their purposes."

"For what purpose do you scare a whole planet?" asked Sarah, though she knew the answer beforehand.

"Total and absolute domain of all living creatures."


	6. Chapter 6

Crossing the forest at night had been easier than the Doctor and Sarah Jane expected: Even wild animals were hiding. They came without problems to the point that Xandra Conrall said; the point where there were only stones and rocks, because life was not possible there.

"We have arrived. This is definitely the entrance to the cave," said the Doctor illuminating a crack in a hill up with his torch. "It has not the typical name of 'The Cave of Evil', 'The Cave of Death' or 'Dark Cave'. It is simply called 'The Cave'. Simple and even original, don't you think, Sarah?" he asked his companion, which did not respond. "Sarah?"

The Doctor looked at the girl, who was staring at the crack with serious face.

"Sarah? Are you alright?" he said waving a hand in front of his friend to make her react.

"What?" said the journalist coming out of the trance. She smiled at her friend. "Goose pimples," simply said.

The Doctor looked at his companion worried and with serious face.

"Sarah, return to Mrs. Conrall's home" he said.

"What? Why? Just because I've gone blank for a few seconds? I have no fear at all!"

"I know, but this place is really evil and I do not want anything to happen to you, and if I am worried about you I can easily fall prey to our enemy."

"Are you telling me I am your weakness?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, and I am yours. You better get to safety. You can safely cross the forest; you've seen that there are no wild animals around."

"You cannot separate me from your side in a moment of danger."

"Sarah, please," said the Doctor almost pleading.

"Okay, I will return to town," she said reluctantly.

"Good girl. Take it," said the Time Lord putting the TARDIS key in the girl's hand. "In case you prefer to stay in the TARDIS. It is the safest place."

"Take care, Doctor," Sarah said before turning around and walking towards the town.

He stood watching how his friend was moving away before entering the cave.


	7. Chapter 7

The Doctor walked carefully into The Cave, but apart from stalactites and stalagmites he found nothing unusual, except a negative atmosphere that became increasingly unbearable. He was glad that Sarah was not there.

It was a small room and he was about to reach the end. He was beginning to think that that 'evil cave' was a fraud when he felt a gentle stream of air coming out of a narrow crack and he got into it, coming to a big chamber.

"Wow! It is bigger on the inside!" the Doctor snorted.

The chamber was austerely furnished with a few seats and a baptismal font full of cloudy water, but what most attracted attention was a big black altar placed in the middle.

"Satanic temple?" he wondered. "This must be the sacrificial chamber."

On one side of the chamber there was a corridor. The Doctor went there ready to inspect more chambers when he heard a voice behind him.

"Well, I think we have a guest. We have become very popular."

The Time Lord turned around and saw seven people, four men and three women, aged between twenty and sixty, with black hair and eyes who wore black robes too.

"The 'dark people', I guess," he said, trying to hide his surprise for not having heard those seven people get closer.

However he was hearing approaching a strange black creature with fire-coloured eyes: an anthropomorphic creature of almost three meters high, with strong extremities finished in claws and a long beak that did not hide its long row of sharp teeth. On its head it had a membranous crest and on its back it had two large wings formed by muscle and membrane. It was a creature that just looking at it would make the bravest man tremble, but not the Doctor. He had seen too many nightmare creatures in his long life to be impressed by a mixture of human and pterodactyl.

"What are you doing in our home?" asked the older man, a distinguished gentleman with perfectly coiffed hair and neat beard.

"I am a caver," said the Doctor with a smile. "I heard that this cave has not been explored by anyone and I wanted to be the first one. This will make me universally famous."

"You will be famous, yes. But for being a fool," said the creature.

"Gosh! Your pet can talk! Has it a name?" he asked sarcastically.

"Call me Strach, but it will be one of the last things you will hear."

"Strach? I imagined something like 'Little Beak'," he said sarcastically again.

The Doctor fell unconscious after being punched in the stomach by Strach.

"Shall we kill him now?" Strach asked the distinguished gentleman.

"Not yet. I want to know who he is and why he is here. Take his clothes off and take him to the interrogation chamber. Let's have some fun."


	8. Chapter 8

The cold and wet contact of the rocky wall against his bare back gave an unpleasant sensation to the Time Lord. He felt his arms, restrained with shackles over his head, increasingly numb and his feet, also shackled, would soon become numb too. He was in the called interrogation chamber wearing only his blue underpants, surrounded by the 'dark people' and the disgusting creature, looking at them with an emotionless expression. Those people liked to see the fear in the faces of others, but he was not going to please them. One of the 'dark women', a beautiful young woman with long hair, was beside him staring at him lasciviously.

"He's very handsome. I like his body," said the girl brushing against the prisoner from his chest to the navel with her finger.

The Doctor shuddered. His body was cold, but hers was frozen! It was as if there was no life in that body.

"One thing at a time, Darma," said the distinguished gentleman.

"Okay, Gideon," she said leaving the Doctor.

The gentleman, Gideon, approached the gallifreyan prisoner.

"I hope you are comfortable," he said.

"Well, it is a little cold here. I miss my scarf, and my jacket, and my shirt, and my trousers ..."

"Do not worry, soon you will warm up. The fun starts now, let's play a game," he said extending his hands toward his 'guest'. "I will make you some questions and you will answer me with the truth. Every time you lie or don't say anything I will shoot electric shocks from my hands that will hit your body, understand?" the prisoner did not answer, so he received the first shock. "Well, you've already seen it. Answer with the truth, for your own good: we cannot attack the truth."

"Is this really necessary? Kill him at once!" Strach exclaimed furiously.

"Do not be impatient," said Gideon looking at the Time Lord. "Who are you? Where are you from?" he asked him.

"I'm called the Doctor and I am a mere traveller," replied the Doctor getting another shock from the hands of Gideon. It was painful, yes, but he would not give them the satisfaction of hearing his cries. "It's the truth!"

"Not entirely. A half truth is a lie. Try again."

"Gallifrey. I'm from Gallifrey."

"So you are a Time Lord," he said. The Doctor nodded. "The Time Lords are devoted to observe the universe without acting at all. Have we attracted their attention enough to they send one of their own?"

"Nobody sent me. I act on my own."

"You can be punished by your people for breaking the rules."

"They have already done it."

"I understand," said the gentleman. "You are a renegade. Why are you here?"

"Because something is wrong with this planet and I want to know what it is."

"And do you already know what is wrong here?"

"Yes," said the Doctor looking at Strach. "I've seen the 'golden people', and you, the 'dark people', are the opposite of them. The Katriax people mentioned a black creature, but not a golden one. 'Little Beak' ..." Strach scratched the right arm of the Doctor, who once again endured the pain, with his sharp claws."... He doesn't have his opposite on the other side. What are you?" he asked the creature.

"I am untouchable," said Strach.

"Release my hand and I'll prove it's not true," said the Doctor.

"Do you think so? Look at me, Renegade, and say the same again."

The Doctor looked at the fire-coloured eyes of the creature, and he saw a city, no, an entire planet, completely devastated. The buildings were demolished and the corpses of the people were piled in the streets. There was fire everywhere. He saw a burned doll on the ground and a little girl crying over the body of her mother. He could not stand it anymore. He closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"Do you see, Renegade? I'm untouchable!" said Strach with a triumphant smile.

"I'll find the way to defeat you."

"YOU WILL NOT!" the horrible creature shouted, violently clawing the chest of the Doctor, causing him a painful and deep wound.

"AAAAHHHG!" this time he couldn't hold back a cry of pain. Strach was furious and hurt the prisoner again, this time in his thigh. The Time Lord could feel his strength leaving him while the blood ran down his body.

"Enough, Strach," Gideon said. The creature stopped attacking him, but before he scratched the abdomen of the renegade with one of his claws. "Doctor, we know you did not come alone, you were accompanied by a girl."

The Doctor looked at the leader of the 'dark people'. What was Gideon seeing in his eyes? Yes, it was fear, at last.

"She is just a girl from Earth, nobody important."

A strong electric shock came out from the hands of the dark gentleman. The Doctor had no strength to put up with the pain.

"Try it again, Time Lord."

"She is my best friend," he said weakly.

Another electric shock struck his body. Gideon looked at Darma, whose hands still pointed to the Doctor.

"He loves another woman," the girl justified herself.

"Never mind. We have found his weak point."

"Why are you doing this?" the Doctor asked in a voice almost inaudible.

"Just for fun," Gideon answered.

He was losing consciousness gradually. The only thing that prevented the Time Lord from falling to the ground were the shackles that held his hands and feet. The last thing he saw was Gideon turning into black smoke coming towards him.


	9. Chapter 9

_When he opened his eyes again he saw Sarah Jane in front of him, who, like him, was naked and with her hands and feet locked._

_"Sarah?"_

_"Did you sleep well, Doctor? Gideon asked. "As you can see we have brought you company, so you are not alone."_

_"Sarah. Weren't you in town?"_

_"I did not get to town, Doctor. When you left me alone in the forest they caught me."_

_The Time Lord was seized by a huge sense of guilt._

_"What kind of idiot leaves a girl alone in a ghost forest at night?" Strach mocked._

_"That doesn't matter, Strach. This is going to be more interesting," said the gentleman. "Now, Doctor, when you do not answer our questions your friend will suffer our shocks."_

_"No! Keep torturing me, I don't care, but let her free. Release her!"_

_"Do not worry about me, Doctor. Find the way to save Dedalion," Sarah said._

_"How touching," said the dark leader._

_"I have told you everything you wanted to know."_

_"Really? Oh, if so then I'll let my youngsters have fun."_

_"No!" the Doctor cried trying to move his immobilized hands._

_"Come on, Doctor," said Gideon. "Behave like a Time Lord and observe."_

_One by one the other six members of Gideon's group were attacking with their shocks to the poor Sarah, who, like the Doctor did, tried not to cry or show any fear, without success. She got the most violent shock from Darma, who laughed loudly when she heard the girl scream in pain._

_"Enough! Leave her!" cried the Doctor._

_"Don't show fear, Doctor ... it is what they want ..." Sarah said._

_"A very brave young girl. Despite being in danger she thinks of others. She has not asked for help for herself," observed Gideon._

_"Release her, please," the Doctor begged._

_"You'll be proud of her, right?"_

_The Doctor wanted to look at Gideon furiously, but he could not look away from his friend, who once again was being attacked by the 'dark people'._

_"You have me, keep torturing me, kill me, whatever you want, but leave the girl. She is no threat to you!"_

_Fear, pain, guilt, helplessness, despair, sadness ... For the first time in his life the Doctor felt completely defeated. Gideon just laughed. Beside him, the Time Lord cursed his helplessness. He, the nightmare of the Daleks, saviour of worlds, could do nothing to save the most important person in the universe to him. It took him a moment to realize he was crying. The dark leader laughed loudly while Strach approached Sarah Jane Smith._

_"Doctor… don't give up," she said before losing consciousness._


	10. Chapter 10

The Doctor was naive if he really thought that Sarah Jane was going to leave him alone too long. When she was sure that her friend no longer was watching her she turned around and went back to the entrance of The Cave to wait for him to come out of there. The wait was not being easy for the girl who hid whenever she thought she heard footsteps inside the damn cave (it might not be the Doctor steps), but then no one came out of there. To not become paranoid she began to hum the Beatles song 'Hold me tight'.

"It feels so right now, hold me tight,

Tell me I'm the only one,

And then I might,

Never be the lonely one."

Sarah glanced nervously at her watch. It had been an hour since the Doctor went into the cave and it seemed that he would not leave there soon. The girl went on humming to avoid worrying too much.

"Let me go on loving you,

To-night to-night,

Making love to only you,"

She stopped suddenly. She thought she heard footsteps again, but this time they seemed to be of something big and heavy. She hid again. Maybe it was her imagination, maybe not. This time it was real: from the cave came out a black creature that spread two huge wings and flew away. Sarah's pulse quickened. Where was the Doctor? Had he faced that being? If so, what had become of him? The girl did not hesitate. Prepared to show no fear Sarah Jane strode into The Cave.

* * *

What unpleasant feeling! The young journalist wanted out of there as soon as possible, but she wouldn't do it without the Doctor. She came to the end of the cave without finding a single clue about the whereabouts of her friend. Where was he? Sarah saw a narrow crack that seemed to lead to another camera and she entered prepared to investigate.

"I have no fear, I have no fear," she thought.

But what she saw there frightened her quite a lot: a few seats, a baptismal font full of cloudy water and the Doctor's clothes on a black altar. The girl ran towards the altar and took in her hands the long multicoloured scarf of her friend.

"Oh, Doctor. What happened to you? Where are you?" she whispered resting her face on the scarf.

He was in danger, she had to find him. On one side there was a corridor that would probably take her closer to her friend, but first she searched the sonic screwdriver in his jacket pockets. She was sure that she would need it.

Sarah came to the next chamber and her heart almost stopped when she saw her friend badly injured, unconscious and shackled hand and foot. She approached him. Despite his wounds he was alive. Breathing rapidly, but breathing. With the sonic screwdriver Sarah released first the Time Lord's feet, then his hands, leaning his body against hers to keep him from falling. As he was too heavy for her they both ended on the ground, but at least it was not a sharp fall. The girl looked at the Doctor terribly worried and scared. He had deep, bleeding scratches on his arm, thigh, abdomen and chest. This last wound was the deepest and most troubling, and there was nothing that could stop the bleeding.

"Doctor?" she called. "Doctor, I'm Sarah. Wake up, please."

"No! Sarah!" he cried in his sleep, but did not wake.

"I'm here," said the girl.

"Leave her!" he cried again.

Sarah brought her hand closer to her friend's face and opened his eyes carefully. What she saw left her completely out of breath: his eyes were black as a night without moon or stars, as night on Dedalion.

"What do you happen? What have they done to you?" The girl was already in panic.

"It's too late, you can no longer do anything for him," said a familiar voice behind her.

Sarah turned around and saw Anya and five other people with golden robe. The young woman approached the Doctor.

"Do something, please," Sarah Jane begged.

"Not here. We have to take him to our temple. Go!" Anya and her companions surrounded the Doctor and Sarah.

"Wait. His clothes. He will need his clothes," Sarah said pointing the corridor.

"I'll get them," said a young man with straight hair down to the shoulders.

"Hurry Alain," Anya said. "We should not be here."

Alain returned with his companions with the Doctor's clothes and then everyone started to vanish. The next thing Sarah remembered was being in a room with a few seats, a baptismal font full of clean water and in the centre of the room, the Doctor on a gilded altar surrounded by the six people she had seen in the cave and an old woman with white eyes - blind? No, she seemed to see perfectly.

"Poor boy," said the old woman. "They have been very cruel to him. He is breathing very fast and his heart ..." she began to say approaching her head to the wounded chest of the Doctor, but she looked at Sarah, surprised.

"Time Lord," said the girl still worried and scared. She didn't know if those people could save her friend.

"What is he doing here? Never mind, his hearts could stop at any time," continued the old woman with a hand on the forehead of the gallifreyan. "He has more than one inside, we must hurry."

The old woman and the other six turned into white smoke and entered inside the Doctor through his mouth. Sarah wanted to run to him but something grabbed gently her green dress. On looking down she saw Kieran with the candy bag in his hand.

"Jelly Baby?" the boy asked offering her the bag.

"No, thanks," replied the girl trying to smile at the little boy.

"Don't worry, my granny will save him."

With tears in her eyes, Sarah nodded.


	11. Chapter 11

_Time seemed to stop. The Doctor had the impression of having been ages looking at the unconscious Sarah Jane when a man with dark hair in a long plait gave Gideon a big gun._

_"Beautiful," said the gentleman. "Do you know what this is, Doctor?"_

_The Time Lord looked the gun horrified, shaking his head, not because he didn't know what it was, but because he knew what that weapon was capable of doing._

_"Exactly," said Gideon. "It's a Demat gun. All that is hit by this preciousness will stop existing completely. It destroys everything."_

_"You cannot use that, Gideon," the Doctor said weakly._

_"Sure I can," said the dark leader pointing the gun at the prisoner. "But I will not use it with you." His gaze went to Sarah. "Wake the girl up. She has to see this."_

_"NO! Gideon, use that gun with me, but don't hurt her more!"_

_The man with the plait approached Sarah with a bucket full of cold water that tossed at the girl. The young journalist woke up with a cry to feel the cold water on her naked skin._

_"D-Doctor ..." she said, stammering by cold. "W-what is ... h-h-hap-p-pening ...?"_

_"It is happening that you are going to regret having met the Time Lord. But do not worry, it will not be for long," said Gideon pointing the demat gun at the poor girl._

_"I'm sorry, Sarah. I should never bring you here," the Doctor said. "Please forgive me."_

_"Poor girl from Earth. One day she met a Time Lord and now she is going to pay it with her life," Darma scoffed._

_Sarah screamed in horror when Gideon took his finger on the trigger of the gun. _

_"SARAH!"_

_A golden light illuminated the whole room, completely blinding the Doctor. Had Gideon shot the gun? He saw nothing more. He did not see what happened to his dear and unfortunate friend._

A black smoke being, larger than the one that Sarah saw in the house of Xandra Conrall, came out of the Doctor's mouth, was split into seven smaller beings and disappeared. Shortly after, another smoke being, white this time, left his body. The white being was also divided into seven smaller beings which surrounded the Time Lord and they turned into the 'golden people' again. The white-eyed old woman put her hand on the forehead of the Doctor, who was still breathing quickly.

"Sarah ..." he said with a faint whisper.

"She is safe and sound," said the old woman with a gentle voice. "You'll be alright, my boy. You just need to sleep." Without looking away from the wounded man, the old woman told Sarah Jane "He has blue eyes."

The girl felt slightly relieved.

"Fun ... They are just having fun," he said again, weakly.

The old woman looked at him seriously and nodded. The hand that was on the gallifreyan's forehead shone with a golden glow.

"Now, my boy, I want you to think about what you most love ... That's it, good boy. You got it. Sleep… Sleep."

The old woman gently slid her hand from the Doctor's face to his chest and left it there, careful not to touch the horrible wound. After a while the Doctor's breathing calmed down. The woman signalled to Sarah to come closer. The journalist left Kieran and went to the altar.

"He's asleep. Do not worry; he will wake up when he is recovered, but I don't know when it will be."

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked, worried again.

"Usually people only need a few hours of rest to recover from an attack of the Nightmares, but it has been different with him: they have tortured his body and mind in a very cruel way. They have been merciless with this poor boy. I don't know how much time he will need to recover. He can sleep a few hours, days, weeks, months ..."

"I understand," Sarah said looking at her friend.

"What are you doing on Dedalion?"

"We want to save the planet and its people."

The old woman smiled at her sweetly. She took Sarah and the Doctor with both hands. Instantly they disappeared from the altar room and appeared in a bedroom.

"He will rest better on a bed, don't you think?" the old woman asked.

Sarah nodded, still looking at the Doctor with sadness and concern.

"Give up on those feelings, my dear. They make them stronger," said the woman with golden hair and white eyes. "He will be fine and you are safe here."

"Thanks ..." Sarah began, looking at the old woman, but stopped to remember that she didn't know her name.

"Maureen," she said.

"Thank you, Maureen."

"You're welcome. I go back with my people; we must keep protecting the inhabitants of Dedalion. Rest you too. You need it."

"And his wounds?" Sarah asked worried about the poor appearance of the Doctor's wounds.

"Do not worry, they don't bleed. They are healing, but need time."

Sarah nodded her head again.

"One more thing," the woman said. "This place is sacred, the others cannot come inside, but once they choose a victim they never let him go. He is protected now, but you are vulnerable. In case you see them, show no fear. Think of positive things."

"In case I see them, where do I get a positive thought?"

Maureen lowered her head and Sarah did the same. In doing so she saw the Doctor, who slept safe from the cruel physical and mental torture to which he was subjected only moments before. Almost without thinking, she stroked his brown curls.

"This is the most pure and sincere feeling that exists: love. It doesn't matter if it's for a friend, a relative or for the beloved person."

"We're just friends," the girl said.

"Of course," the old woman smiled. "You are Sarah Jane, aren't you? He thought about you before falling asleep," she said leaving the room.

Sarah stared at her friend shocked. What he most loved ... She?

"Are you really dreaming of me?" she asked her friend.

Anya came into the room with a golden robe in hand.

"Sarah, give me your dress, please. I'll clean it up a bit," said the young woman.

Sarah then realized that her green dress was stained with the blood of the Doctor. She put on the robe that Anya offered her and gave her the stained dress.

"Thank you, Anya. For everything."

"You're welcome. I said I was indebted to you," she said smiling. The golden woman left the room with Sarah's dress.

The young journalist approached the bedroom window. It was night, it was very dark. The only thing that Sarah thought she saw were two fire-coloured bright circles that seemed to be 'watching her'. The girl's heart quickened. Trying to calm down she looked at the Doctor, her dear friend, no, more than that, as Maureen had said. When she looked back at the window she saw nothing but darkness.

"It must have been my imagination," she said.

There was a recliner next to the bed, so Sarah sat on it and tried to get some sleep, hoping not to dream of The Cave, the black creature, or the dying Doctor.


	12. Chapter 12

_"Gammel, please wake up!" Amerita Hent said, gently shaking her husband._

_"I'm awake, my dear," said the old leader of the Narrul people._

_"Gammel, please. Do not leave me now!"_

_"What's the matter, Amerita?" the old man asked, trying to touch his wife's face with his hand._

_Then he realized: he could not move his hand. He could not move any part of his body._

_"Amerita!" he shouted scared, but his mouth did not move._

_The doctor Lakari came into the bedroom of the marriage._

_"Mrs. Hent, did you call me?"_

_"Yes, doctor. My husband does not wake up! He does not react to anything!"_

_The brown eyes of Gammel were open, so he could see the doctor Lakari examining him thoroughly._

_"Sorry, Mrs. Hent. Gammel's dead."_

_"No!" cried the old man with a voice that only he could hear. "Amerita, I'm alive! You know I am! Can't you hear my voice?"_

_The old woman began to mourn disconsolate on the shoulder of the doctor._

_"Mrs. Hent, we are going to prepare the funeral of your husband," said the doctor._

_Immediately after, Gammel Hent was inside a pit about to be covered with soil. The old man kept shouting and trying in vain to move. The paralysis which affected his body would not disappear before the pit was completely covered. The Narrul gravedigger started throwing soil in the pit, just on the face of the revered leader who could feel he was breathing only soil, not air._

_He was suffocating._

"Gammel, wake up!" Amerita Hent shouted desperately. Her husband was breathing quickly in his sleep. He seemed on the verge of a heart attack.

"You're still in time, Amerita. You can still save him," said a voice in front of her.

The woman looked up and saw a handsome young man with golden hair to his shoulders dressed in a robe of the same colour. His blue eyes were reassuring.

"Who are you?" the old woman asked surprised to see the stranger.

"I am a friend. Call me Alain."

"What can I do for my husband?"

"First, calm down: if you are nervous and scared you will not get anything. Secondly, do you love your husband?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I love him, young man!"

Alain smiled.

"Let him know."

"What happens?" asked the old woman.

"A Nightmare," was the answer of Alain.

Amerita wrapped her arms around her husband and whispered in his ear.

"Gammel, my love, It's me, Amerita. Everything will be okay, I'm with you," said the gray-haired woman. She did not know if she was doing well, but it was all she could think of. "Do not leave me, my dear. I will never do it."

_He was almost completely buried. He could not breathe, could not scream, could not move, and the only thing that his eyes saw was darkness: he was going to die buried alive. But he was still alive. With all his might he thought of his wife, his family. They could not let him die like that._

_"Amerita, please hear my voice!"_

"Do not leave me, my love!" Mrs. Hent said again.

_He was suffocating; he would not live much inside his own grave. He had almost stopped hearing people who had gathered at his funeral when he began to see the light again. He felt arms pulling him out of the tomb and instantly felt again the embrace of his beloved wife._

_"Gammel, I have heard your voice," the woman said with tears of joy in her eyes._

_Gradually, the old man managed to move a hand that put on the back of the woman._

The black smoke left the body of the old leader and stood in front of Alain.

"Tell Gideon that we are not going to give up. We are going to restore back the balance on Dedalion," the golden young man said challenging.

The dark being began to move again.

"One more thing," Alain said again. "The Doctor will recover."

And with that, the black smoke vanished. Alain looked at the old married couple and smiled at the woman.

"You saved Gammel. Do not worry, he'll be fine. Now he just needs to sleep."

"Thank you, young man. I don't know where you come from, but I am grateful for your help."

"I didn't do anything, Amerita. It was you."

"It is the first time I see you, but you talk to me like you know me all my life," the Narrul woman said.

"And so it is. My people have seen the birth of all living creatures on this planet."

"I am going to believe what you say, Alain. Things so strange are happening lately that this seems even normal." Alain laughed. "Tell me, what was that black thing?" Mrs. Hent asked.

"Something that should not be acting like this," he answered.

"Is there no way to stop it?"

"We will find the way, I promise. You do not lose hope."

"Hope? It seems that hope has left this planet. Where is it now?"

Alain smiled again at the Narrul old woman.

"It's sleeping in our temple."


	13. Chapter 13

Sarah looked at her watch. It had been ten hours since she fell asleep and did not remember having had any dream, neither good nor bad. She had slept well, which was surprising, given the circumstances in which she was. She quickly got up from the recliner and went to the bed where the Doctor was sleeping. What she saw surprised her: his body was completely healed; there was no sign of wound. But her friend was still asleep, which meant that his mind was still wounded and he was still not completely recovered.

"It's unbelievable," said the girl, looking the clean and unharmed body of her friend. The young journalist reached out, feeling the urge to touch the rosy skin of the Time Lord, but she managed to hold back. It was not right to touch the naked body of an unconscious person. Instead, she brushed a lock of brown curls from his forehead and kissed him. "Sleep all you need, my friend. Soon you'll be fine."

She looked to the side, to a chair that was near the door and saw her green dress with the clothes of the Doctor. She took it and watched it carefully: it was clean.

"I have to ask them the brand of their detergent," Sarah joked.

The human girl changed her clothes and went to the window. She still didn't know where they were exactly. She expected to see the eternally cloudy sky of Dedalion, of course, but clouds were the only thing she saw.

"We are in a temple in the sky!" She exclaimed. Shortly after, she began to laugh. "What a fool! I travel through time and space in an old police box and I am surprised to be in a sanctuary in the sky. The view is beautiful, Doctor. The clouds are beautiful."

Sarah heard a faint sound coming from the bed and turned around to look at her friend, who was moving his head slightly. He was waking up. Quickly, Sarah moved away from the window and sat on the edge of the bed, taking the Doctor's left hand in hers.

"Doctor," she whispered, feeling joy for the first time since they landed.

The Time Lord opened his eyes slowly. He stood still a moment, motionless, looking at the ceiling of the room and wondering from when his bedroom was gold and white. He gradually sat up in bed, confused and disoriented. That was not at all like his bedroom in the TARDIS, and he could not remember anything that happened the previous day.

"Doctor," Sarah said softly.

The warm voice of his friend was bringing the Doctor to reality.

"Sarah ..." he said, remembering. "Sarah ... Sarah!"

The girl wanted to hug her friend; feel his skin, his breathing, his hearts. She wanted to make sure it was real and she was not still sleeping on the recliner, but he did it first. The Time Lord pulled the journalist to him and surrounded her back with his arms, hugging her with all the strength that he had at that moment.

"Sarah ... you're alive," he said, avoiding tears.

"Uh, what?" the girl asked, puzzled by her friend's reaction.

"They ... The Cave ..." he tried to say, but the memory was too painful.

"I'm fine, Doctor. Tell me: what do you think happened?" her voice was reassuring. Sarah put her hands on the back of her friend, returning him the hug. His cold skin was softer than she expected.

"They tortured you, Sarah. They did it in front of my eyes and I could not do anything about it."

"Doctor ... you're trembling," she said, surprised. It was the first time Sarah saw him that way. It was the first time Sarah saw the great Time Lord trembling. And his fear was for her. "That did not happen."

"They caught you," he went on. "They caught you when I left you alone in the forest. They immobilized you hand and foot and began to hurt you with shocks ... and claws ... and I was also immobilized ... I could only watch."

"Of course!" she exclaimed. "It's your nightmare! You are remembering your nightmare, your worst nightmare: I'm in danger and you have to watch helplessly." The Doctor nodded his head slightly. Sarah hugged him tighter. "Calm down. That did not happen, I'm okay, you're okay." She rested her head on his shoulder, giving him a soft kiss and started to cry unable to avoid it. She was more important to him than she thought. "My friend, my dear friend," she whispered.

But 'friend' was not the word she wanted to say.

The Doctor closed his eyes, grateful for the comfort that gave him the warmth and sweetness of the words of his companion.

But 'friend' was not the word he wanted to hear.

"It was a nightmare ..." he said. Sarah nodded. "You managed to get to town ..."

"I didn't go to town. I was waiting for you at the entrance of The Cave," said the girl, knowing that it could upset him.

"Oh, Sarah. You never do what I ask." He tried to laugh, at least smile, but could not. "That was very dangerous for you."

"What was I going to do, wait quietly drinking a cup of tea while you risk your life? I can't do that."

"You're so stubborn ... thank you, thank you very much," said the Doctor, knowing that if it had not been for his friend he would now be dead.

"As you did not go out I went in looking for you, and I found you ... badly wounded ... in your chest ... dying ..." The crying choked her voice. "But you're alright, you have woken up much earlier than we expected," she said, stroking his brown hair and his neck, trying not to think about that real nightmare.

"I think I begin to remember. I went into the cave and they caught me. They tortured me and I fainted. When I opened my eyes I saw you, prisoner too, and they began to shoot you electric shocks just for fun ... and the creature wounded your body with his claws, and ... and ..."

"Hush, my friend. Do not think about that."

"I did not wake up, did I? I did not open my eyes until now."

"No, you didn't. I thought you were going to die. Anya found us. Her people saved you. Now we are in their sanctuary in the sky."

"This time I have been very close to death."

"Shhhhh. Hush, do not think about that. You're well, we both are well. Think of positive things."

Positive things. For him there was only one positive thing at that time: Sarah. His dear friend, no, more than that, alive and in his arms. Had he really woken up? Yes, he had, he was sure of it. He could feel the warmth of the girl in his body. He could feel her breath, her tears falling on his shoulder, her caresses; her kiss was still on his skin...

On his skin...

Suddenly he remembered something.

"Am I naked?" he asked.

"Yes. But do not worry, you remembered to put your underwear on," Sarah joked, still crying.

The Doctor said nothing, but Sarah could feel the nervousness in his body. He was embarrassed that she saw him naked. She smiled to find out that the Time Lord, so sure of himself, was a shy man.

"Your clothes are there," Sarah said, pointing to the chair. "I'm going to bring it."

She didn't want to separate from his embrace, but as he did not feel comfortable in that situation she went to take his clothes from the chair. When she moved away from him, she saw he was avoiding her gaze with his face slightly flushed. She could not help smiling again. He was so adorable...

"Here are your clothes, Doctor." The girl put the outfit on the bed. "How kind! They have left you new underwear to replace yours. White, not golden," Sarah said looking at a pair of boxer shorts.

The Doctor looked down at his blue underpants, which were torn. The flush on his face increased.

"Do you mind?" he said, taking the white boxers. It was not a question. It was an order.

Sarah turned around for her friend could dress quietly. The girl felt that she also flushed when she heard the soft sound of the blue underpants falling to the floor. The Doctor was completely naked behind her!

When he had put on his trousers, shirt and vest, Maureen knocked on the door of the room.

"Come in," said the Doctor, still visibly nervous.

"Doctor," said the old lady with white eyes. "You are an extraordinary man; we thought that you would sleep at least a month."

"Sleep is for tortoises," he said.

"She is Maureen, Doctor. The leader of the 'golden people'," Sarah whispered to her friend.

"A pleasure, Maureen. And thank you very much for saving my life."

"You don't need to thank me, my boy. It is always nice to see the positive feelings of young people."

"Positive feelings?" the Doctor asked, trying unsuccessfully to tie his neckerchief in a bow. "I feel embarrassed! Is that a positive feeling?"

"You're making your friend laugh, so in this case it is."

The Doctor looked at Sarah Jane, who laughed to see the Time Lord dressing clumsily.

"Sorry," she said. "But you're so cute when you blush."

"Come on, Doctor," said Maureen. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about."

He stopped trying to tie his neckerchief. That was too much for him. He did not miss the double meaning of that phrase. Sarah took his hands gently of the neckerchief and tied it into a bow.

"How you feeling, Doctor?" Maureen asked.

"Embarrassed," he said.

"He remembers his nightmare. Mrs. Conrall did not remember anything," Sarah Jane said the old woman.

"That's because he's not human. I just worried that you could not forget the nightmare."

"I can't distinguish the dream from reality," said the Doctor with worried look and serious voice.

"Can you help him, Maureen?" Sarah asked.

"I can bury his nightmare in the depths of his mind," she said, approaching him with her hands extended. The Doctor shook his head, looking at Maureen with a slight look of fear on his face. "Do not worry, my boy. You have your mind well protected. I will not see anything you don't want that I see, and what you want to show I have already seen."

The Doctor allowed Maureen to approach him, but before the old woman did anything he took her hands, still scared.

"A Demat gun ... Have they a Demat gun?"

"Do not worry. That was part of your own dream. Nobody on Dedalion has a weapon of that type, and Gideon and his people do not need it."

"Thanks," said the gallifreyan relieved, releasing the old woman's hands. He closed his eyes and let Maureen put her hands on either side of his head, looking for the nightmare in his memories and burying it in the deepest part of his mind.

"I think that's it. Try to remember, Time Lord."

The Doctor stayed thoughtfully a moment, then shook his head and smiled. It was the cutest thing that Sarah had seen in a while.

"I can't remember it. Thank you, Maureen."

"My pleasure," she said. "Your feelings are pure and beautiful. Don't hide them; they will save you in the future." This time she communicated with him telepathically. He said nothing, but looked down sadly.

"Thank you, Maureen," Sarah said, going back with her friend. The girl stroked the cheek of the gallifreyan, who looked at her and smiled sweet and sad at the same time. "Does he remember The Cave?"

"I've only touched the nightmare. If you want to help Dedalion he will have to remember Gideon."

"Yes. It is okay this way," he said.

They began to smell a delicious aroma coming from one of the rooms of the temple and the Doctor licked his lips unconsciously.

"We are preparing breakfast for Sarah. I'm going to tell them you have woken up. You must be hungry, you'll recover better with a full stomach," said Maureen smiling.

The Doctor nodded shyly. He got up helped by Sarah Jane and the three left the bedroom.


	14. Chapter 14

"Missing people," Sarah said when she saw that with them they were only Maureen, Anya and Kieran.

"Gideon has not taken well that we rescue the Doctor. People have been suffering attacks of nightmares all night," Maureen explained.

The old woman led them to a table laden with food and the five sat down to breakfast. There was toast with a sweet cream and a slightly bitter hot drink. Sarah could not call that 'toast with jam and coffee', but it was close enough. The Doctor took some fruit from a tray. They were like purple grapes that the Time Lord looked closely.

"Vingraws. Fascinating, I thought it was winter, but this plant bears fruit only in spring."

"It's spring," Anya said sadly.

"Definitely the whole planet is affected," said the Doctor. "Who are Gideon and his people? Who are you? Nobody seems to know you but I have the impression that you're here long time." The time of the questions and answers had arrived.

"We are the same people: the Ancient People," said Maureen. "Two sides of the same coin. We are on every inhabited planet, keeping the balance between Good and Evil."

"I've noticed that you are the opposite of each other. What there is in a side has its opposite in the other one," said the Doctor.

"Yes," confirmed Maureen.

"Here's a kid, but I didn't see any child in The Cave."

"There is a child with Gideon. A little girl, but you did not see her."

The Doctor shuddered. A child should be innocent and pure, not a 'small bag of evilness'.

"The creature that is with them ... Do you have any pet?"

"No. That creature is what has upset the balance. We do not know where it came from, but since it appeared Gideon and his men are openly attacking people. That is prohibited. We cannot mix with humans."

"Ah! That is why you turn into smoke when you are close to people. Black smoke and white smoke; not golden, the opposite colour here. Why?"

"My dear boy, smoke may be white, gray and even black, but not golden. If we want to go unnoticed we must adopt a normal appearance," the old woman answered.

"Very clever. It's what I thought. Little Be ..." the Doctor shook his head. "Strach should not exist here. Well, it is a pity. I would have liked to see a golden unicorn or something," he said.

"Why always that the balance breaks is in favour of Evil?" Sarah Jane asked. "Would not it be better for men to be broken in favour of Good?"

"That would not be good for you," Maureen answered.

"Why not?"

"Men must be free to choose their actions, whether good or bad. If the balance is broken for us we would have to eliminate all those who act wrongly."

"Exactly," said the Doctor. "Tipping the scales more to one side than another depends on the men themselves. Doing good deeds tilts the balance towards the Good and vice versa."

"That way the Good and Evil that live in every man are also balanced," said Anya.

"Every good deed must be answered with a wrong deed, right? If we all do good deeds, what wrong are we doing to redress the balance?"

The Doctor smiled at his friend.

"Every time we decide to do good deeds we are killing the evil within us. Killing is an act of evil, no matter what you kill. You're one of the kindest people I know, Sarah, but you are not free from evil. Certainly, Abraxas lives in all of us."

"Light and Darkness, the Divine and the Demonic, the Good and the Evil," Sarah said.

"Exactly," replied the Doctor.

"The 'dark people' cannot openly attack humans ..." Sarah started to say, but Anya let out a giggle. "What?"

"It's the first time I hear the name 'dark people' to refer to Gideon and his men," said the woman.

"And you are the 'golden people'," said the Doctor. "How are you called here?"

"Evil creatures is the most common for them, so we are Good creatures. But there are people who call the other side Nightmares. I like that name, it is the only thing they can do against men: to do that they have nightmares at night; nightmares of which one wakes up, of course."

"Bad dreams, simply," said the Doctor.

"Yes. But you have already seen what they can do with them. They can trap you in your own nightmare doing that you cannot wake up by yourself. When the nightmare comes to its tragic end, you die," Maureen said in a serious voice.

"Then, if they are the Nightmares you are the Dreams. I like the name; very poetic. On Earth you would be called Demons and Angels," the Doctor said trying to change the subject a little. Thanks to the white-eyed old woman he did not remember his nightmare, but did remember the torture he had been subjected and that he had been about to die. "What were you going to say, Sarah?"

"The Nightmares cannot openly attack humans, but since the creature appeared they are doing it. Is it some sort of Supreme Being and the Nightmares are working for it?"

"No, we would know if that creature is superior to us, and we perceive nothing in it," said Maureen.

"Strach fears and respects Gideon," the Doctor said. "He follows his orders and yet also seems to act on his own. He is very violent. If Gideon had not stopped him ..." with an expression of pain on his face he put his hand on his chest unconsciously. "Poor Taron. Poor Ionas."

Sarah looked at the Doctor, concerned.

"A painful memory," he said with a slight smile.

"I can make you forget the wounds of the creature, Doctor," said Maureen.

"What does not kill you makes you stronger. I want to think I'm stronger now," he said smiling, but the pain was still visible in his eyes.

Under the table Sarah took the hand of her friend. It was not the first time he was in mortal danger, but this time it had affected him a lot.

"Then we have to stop this creature, right?" the young journalist asked.

"Or get a creature opposite to Strach," replied the Time Lord. "If you do not like unicorns, how about a golden gryphon?"

"It is strange to think of golden as the opposite of black," the human girl said.

"Not so strange, there are places on Earth where white is the colour of mourning."

"Right," she said.

"Doctor, you have seen, or rather, you have suffered what Gideon and the creature are doing with the people. Are you sure you want to face them again?" Anya asked.

"Now with more reason," he said.

"Yes, but how are we going to approach the creature?" said Sarah Jane. "While it is protected by its shield of fear will be untouchable."

"Shield of fear ... That's it! Sarah, you're brilliant!" the gallifreyan exclaimed.

"What have I said?"

"That creature has the ego too raised. He thinks that because people are afraid he can't be touched. We are going to show him that this is not true."

"How?" the journalist asked.

"Touching him."

"Oh, yes. Quite simple."

"Gideon protects him, remember? Do you think approach him alone?" Anya asked.

"Of course not! I am going to need the help of all the inhabitants of Dedalion," said the Doctor, smiling while he went to the bedroom to get the rest of his clothes.

Sarah looked at him puzzled. When they reached the Katriax town had not seen anyone outside their homes, and now the Doctor was going to ask them to go out and see the creature that had killed their loved ones.

"Doctor, just by looking at the creature, Strach, one already feels that fear paralyzes him. Maybe you have not noticed, but you are also affected. How are you going to neutralize that fear?" Maureen said.

"I'll think of something," he said as he put on his jacket and scarf. "My brain has never failed me."

"Then you will be caught again. No matter how wise you are, fear affects reason. The brain cannot think clearly."

"Are you telling me I should give up?"

"Not at all. You have the key to overcoming your fears, Doctor. But you are searching in the wrong place."

The Time Lord remained thoughtful with his hands still on his scarf.

"Maureen, I am going to need the help of your people too. I know you cannot mix with humans, but nothing can do more damage to this planet already."

"You can count on us."

"Let's go then," he said, putting his hat on his head.

"Now?" Sarah asked. "I mean, are you alright?"

"Sarah, we have no time to lose. Strach is out there and is very dangerous." She kept looking at him worried. He approached his friend and, putting his hands on her shoulders, said with a kind smile. "I'm fine."

Sarah nodded and also smiled at him, although her face still reflected concern.

"I'm ready," said Anya, approaching them.


	15. Chapter 15

Anya took the hand of the Doctor and Sarah Jane and the three were teleported to ground, just under the floating temple.

"This clearing again," Sarah said when she saw where they were.

"The opposite, Sarah: they live in the same place, but the Dreams live up and the Nightmares live down," said her friend. "Anya, we'd better move away from here." It is not that he was afraid, but the Time Lord was uncomfortable being so close to The Cave and the dark leader.

"Of course, Doctor. Where do you want to go?" the golden woman asked.

"It is clear: we are going to Xandra Conrall's house. She is ready to face Strach, Gideon and whoever is disrupting her planet."

Anya smiled, but before she could make the teleport to the house of the Katriax woman they heard a scream over their heads.

"HELP! HELP!"

Looking up they saw Strach, flying just above them with a man in his claws. The golden woman let go of her companions' hands and turned into a white smoke being that flew quickly to save the victim of the nasty half-pterodactyl creature, but before she could reach him, Strach bit violently the head of the poor unfortunate, ripping it from his body, and dropped the decapitated corpse near the Doctor. Sarah put her hands on her face, horrified.

"You don't scare us, Strach! Do you hear me? YOU DON'T SCARE US!" shouted the gallifreyan. "Have I sounded convincing?" he asked his friend, which did not respond.

Strach disappeared from their view. The two travellers approached the body while Anya did the same, bringing the head with short blue hair and long beard in her hands. The woman could not hold back tears when observing the corpse. He had his blue eyes still open and a pained expression on his face. He was an Ewinder man.

"How horrible," Sarah Jane said, also with tears in her eyes.

Anya put her hands, which shone with a golden light, over the body, which was instantly covered in a white shroud.

"Vartiak Synen was his name. He was a guard loyal to his leader," she said in a solemn voice. "Doctor, I am going to Ewinder territory to carry the body to his family. You can come with me and then we go together to Mrs. Conrall's house."

"This forest is near Katriax territory. Go with the Ewinder, Anya, and stay with them. We'll go to house of Mrs. Conrall."

"I do not think it's prudent that you go alone," Anya said.

"We have crossed this forest before. If we don't show any sign of weakness, we will be fine."

"Be careful and do not separate. Doctor, you've already lost the protection you had in our temple, so now you're as vulnerable as any of them, or even more. You have seen the creature."

"Don't worry."

She was not convinced of leave them, but nodded and vanished with the corpse. The Doctor and Sarah headed to Xandra Conrall's house briskly.

"Think of positive things, Sarah. Your planet, your hopes, your dreams ..."

"What did you dream while you were sleeping in the golden temple?" she asked. The Time Lord looked at her, surprised that she asked that question at that time. "That dream did you recover in just a few hours. It would be good for you to think about it."

"I cannot remember it, Sarah. Moreover, I recovered soon thanks to my own energy of regeneration."

"I understand," Sarah Jane said.

If she could not remember what she had dreamed there, it was no wonder that the Doctor did not either, but the young journalist was a little disappointed. She wondered if he really dreamt about her. That would be the best thought she could have.

"Is it my imagination or something is following us?" she asked.

"It's your imagination. Think of something else," said the Doctor.

Sarah began to think about the friends who were waiting for them on Earth, hoping that their memory would be enough to not go crazy at that forest. The gallifreyan took his companion's hand to make her feel safer and they went their way without stopping.


	16. Chapter 16

On entering the blue house they saw Mrs. Conrall was not alone. Beside her there were five men of the Narrul race and four of the Ewinder, of which one was a woman of about fifty years of proud face.

"Thank heaven. For a moment I thought that you were dead," Xandra said when she saw the travellers.

"It was close," Sarah Jane said in a sombre voice.

"You've managed to contact with the other leaders and you all have gathered in less than a day. Extraordinary," the gallifreyan pointed.

"Not exactly, Doctor. It was that man of the golden robe who brought them here and also said me that you were alright," she said pointing to a young man that waved them.

The Doctor and Sarah also greeted the man with shoulder-length hair.

"Alain," Sarah whispered to her friend, who didn't know the young man who took part in his rescue and subsequent salvation from the Nightmares.

"I'm glad to see you again, Sarah. Doctor, you have recovered in very short time."

"No time to sleep, and less when the rebellion has already begun here," said the Doctor. "Could you introduce your guests, Mrs. Conrall? The last time I was here was a long time ago; these faces are new to me."

The woman of proud face approached the time traveller.

"My name is Lissenda Rhoks, the leader of the Ewinder people, and these are my personal guards: Frasier, Skephan and Gormin."

"And I am Gammel Hent of the Narrul, with Tarek, Nichols, Dominik and Phavian," said the old man with brown eyes.

"It's a pleasure. I'm the Doctor and this is Sarah Jane Smith, my assistant. Let me tell you that you are very brave to come here prepared to fight for your freedom."

"We've had enough, Doctor. It's time to do something. My daughter is pregnant, and I do not want my grandson to be born on a planet ruled by fear and nightmares," said the Narrul leader.

"This ominous atmosphere is much stronger here, in the Katriax territory. Vartiak, one of my bravest men, lost his head and ran out of here," Lissenda said.

"He lost his head, yes. He is dead," said the Doctor.

Sarah looked at her companion. In another time she would have criticized that insensitive remark, but now she knew that his coldness was pretended and that he deeply regretted the loss of the guard, as victim of the black creature as he was.

"How?" the proud lady asked, unable to hide the sadness in her eyes.

"The creature," he said without giving details of the horrible end of the man.

"Then, I swear by my ancestors that I will avenge his death."

"We will do it all together. We all have loved ones who avenge," Gammel said.

"Mrs. Rhoks, the body of your guard has been taken to his family," said the Doctor. "Anya has taken him. Now she is with the Ewinder."

Alain nodded.

"This slaughter must end soon," said Xandra. "We need gather a larger army and attract the creature away from The Cave. We believe that this way it will exercise less power over us."

"No matter where he is, he is going to do the same harm. However, I agree with the large army," said the Doctor.

"I have more men waiting my orders in my town, Doctor. They'll come at once. Our golden friend can bring them," Gammel said.

"We need something more than 'more men', Mr Hent. We need all the dedalionites join our fight."

"Everyone?" Xandra asked.

"Everyone: men, women, old men, children, the baker, the gardener, the paperboy ... You know what I mean."

"If it is necessary, all my people will be armed with what they have on hand and come to fight with me," said Lissenda.

"It is not necessary, Mrs. Rhoks. All they have to do is leave their homes and make their normal lives, as before Strach appear in your life."

"Leaving home? Is that all?" Xandra asked, although she knew that what the gallifreyan wanted was not so simple.

"I know that it will not be easy. We are all afraid of the creature and the deadly nightmares, but it's time to overcome that fear and show that Dedalion is inhabited by brave people," said the Doctor.

"But we are focusing only on the creature, and it is not alone. My wife told me about a black smoke that came out of my body or something like that," Gammel said.

"Because we cannot do anything against the dark people, Mr. Hent. I hope destroying Strach everything returns to normal. The Nightmares are our golden friends' affair," the Doctor said looking at Alain.

"Very well. All we go out. What about the creature? Will it come looking for us?" Lissenda asked.

"Yes, it will. Don't forget that now is furious. One of his victims escaped and I'm sure he wants to finish what he started."

Sarah turned around so that her friend could not see her face, sad and worried, but the Time Lord felt something was bothering his companion.

"What is it, Sarah?"

"You're going to be the bait. You are always the bait," said the girl.

"I have to do it, Sarah. Strach feels that I am a threat to him and he will not stop until I am eliminated. I will make him to focus only on me, so that he does not touch any of you." The young journalist said nothing. "I have to do it. Do not forget I'm also affected by pain and fear. The next time I fall asleep I will be attacked by the Nightmares again."

"Yes ... yes, I understand ..."

"Good girl. Well, get down to work. Alain, I need your help. I need that you and your friends communicate with the people of the three territories. Tell them what we just talked about here. Tell them to go out without fear."

Alain nodded and closed his eyes, establishing a telepathic bond not only with his companions but with the entire planet. All citizens of Dedalion were being informed the plan drawn up by the traveller and their leaders. All of them were willing to help them, overcome their fears and regain the lives they had.

The doors of the houses began to open and people started to leave.

"Well, I think even Strach has heard about this," said the Doctor, smiling. "Mrs. Conrall, let's join them."


	17. Chapter 17

Xandra opened the door of her house and she and her guests went out into the street, crowded now.

"People!" the Doctor exclaimed. "You can hide yourselves very well. When Sarah and I arrived, it was a ghost town."

"There is fear," said Alain. "There is fear in their faces."

"They are doing what they can, Alain. Give them time," said the Doctor. "Let's move towards the forest. Strach has to see that people have left their homes, but I do not want to put them in danger."

They had no time to get away from people when they heard the beating of the membranous wings of the creature over them. Strach flew over the Katriax town threateningly and people did what they could to avoid going back into their homes.

"Come on, hold on. You're doing well," said the Doctor in a low voice, more to himself than to others.

The Time Lord's confidence in his plan was weakening. Strach seemed to focus more on the townspeople than in the small group of soldiers he led.

"Doctor, look!" Sarah Jane said pointing in the opposite direction where her companion was looking at.

Seven black smoke beings floated in the sky of Dedalion, waiting for their moment to attack.

"They are testing us," said the Doctor. "Do not lose your self-confidence."

The half-pterodactyl creature continued flying over the town, circling without moving away from the increasingly frightened people under the watchful eye of the Doctor and his group. Only Alain watched the movements of Gideon and his men.

Suddenly one of the beings of black smoke rushed to the town centre.

"Damn!" exclaimed the golden young man, turning into white smoke and chasing his dark enemy.

"LEAVE THESE PEOPLE ALONE, STRACH! I AM YOUR ENEMY, NOT THEM!" the Time Lord shouted furiously.

A boy lay on the ground of the town, shaking himself violently in what appeared to be a horrible dream. Beside him, his girlfriend was trying to wake him up while people around screamed in panic. Alain came where the couple was and tried to calm the girl.

"Linda, do not worry, it's still not too late. You can save Shawn," he said soothingly. But Linda did not seem to hear. "You will not help him if you fall too."

The girl fell next to her boyfriend and another black smoke being entered her body. Alain raised his hand, emitting a calming light to prevent collective panic as he watched the couple with worried eyes. He could only save one of them.

Anya appeared next to her companion.

"Hurry," she said, coming into Linda's body.

Alain did the same with Shawn. When the two youngsters were released from their nightmares they were taken to their homes to recover. They would be safe there. The danger was out.

"What are you doing here, Anya?" Alain asked when he met with the woman again. "I thought you were with the Ewinder people."

"They are not alone. Gosgart and Naryn are with them, but the threat is concentrated here, with the Katriax."

"You're right. Gideon is here with all his men and we are in numerical inferiority. Come on. Xandra and the Doctor need us."

"Are we failing, Doctor?" Sarah asked.

"No, we aren't. Conrall, Rhoks, Hent. Leaders must set an example for the citizens. If they see that you're relaxed they will feel safer."

"You have heard, guys," Gammel said his guards. "Breathe deeply and think about your families. We are going to reassure these people before we all die!"

"That's the spirit, Mr. Hent ... Or almost," said the Doctor.

The leaders and their guards approached people and spoke them softly, soothing, making them see that if they were not scared is that there was no reason to be. It was a difficult task, because even they feared becoming victims of the creature or the Nightmares at any time, but they had learned to hide their fears and not show them on public. Xandra approached a man her age and took his hand.

"Cole, you have been a loyal guard to my husband. Ignore your fears, you can do it. Ignore your fears and fight with me."

"Xandra, will this nightmare ever end?"

"Only if you fight with us, Cole. Are you with me?"

"I'm with you," Cole said with determination.

"Katriax! It's time to fight! Are you with me?" the woman shouted.

People gathered there raised their arms and shouted in unison, carried away by the courageous spirit of the woman who had called them to fight. If she, who had lost her husband and son at the hands of those evil creatures was not going to surrender, neither would they.

"For the Narrul people!" Gammel shouted.

The telepathic bond was still active, so everyone heard the Narrul roar, and the same thing happened with the people of Lissenda, who also raised her voice to give them courage. The Doctor smiled broadly when he heard the popular clamour.

But Strach was not so happy.

The creature saw a small boy walking near where the Time Lord was and swooped down on him with claws wide open. The Doctor realized Strach intentions and ran to the boy, whom hugged to protect him with his own body. The terrible monster was going to catch the gallifreyan again and this time he would not let him escape. He would sink his claws into his body as deeply as possible and would drop him from the highest point he could reach.

"DOCTOR!" Sarah cried.

Strach never touched his target. He hit an invisible barrier that drove him back. The Doctor looked at the beast, which walked away angry, and then looked for his saviour. He saw Maureen, with her face serene and the arm extended towards where he and the child were. The Time Lord made a gesture of thanks with his head to the old woman, who nodded and turned around to focus on the other people, in panic after the attack of the creature.

"Don't be afraid! We're protecting you! No danger!" Anya shouted, trying to make herself heard in the tumult.

The Doctor was still embracing the child, who was trembling scared.

"What's your name?" the time traveller asked.

"Alec," replied the boy.

"Tell me, Alec. Have you ever thought that there were monsters in your closet?"

The boy nodded.

"Have you been afraid of them?"

"No! My mom told me if I ignore them they go. And it's true!"

The Doctor smiled at the small boy.

"Alec, this creature is another monster in your closet, but it's in the closet of all your neighbours too. If you all ignore it, it will disappear."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me. Do what you do to make the monsters go away."

Amid the chaos caused by panic, the little Alec started singing a song.

"Been a long time,

But I have finally returned.

The light from your sun bathes my skin,

And gaily coloured flowers greet me.

I have finally returned,

Dedalion, my home."

Xandra and Cole came next to the Doctor and, taking the child's hand, they sang with him. It was a hymn to the planet, known for the three races of men. Soon Lissenda and Gammel joined them, and gradually, a human chain was being formed.

"This has been very clever, Alec the Brave," the Doctor thought aloud, with a smile on his face.

Sarah felt her heart exploded in her chest when the winged creature tried to attack the Doctor. Now the girl breathed deeply, trying to calm her nerves, concentrating to keep bad thoughts away. She looked at the cloudy sky and saw it there: the horrible monster that wanted to get rid of her dear friend at all costs; the horrible monster that tore his flesh cruelly.

The image of the Doctor as she found him in The Cave came back to her mind: mortally wounded, with blood streaming down his body and his big blue eyes black, lacking brightness, hovering between life and death while the Nightmares plunged him into the eternal darkness.

Darkness...

They had not won yet, there were still frightened people. The Doctor, along with Maureen, Anya, Alain, Gormin, Phavian and Tarek encouraged people to join the human chain and sing for 'scare away the monsters'.

Strach lunged at them again. The white-eyed old woman was busy, and the Doctor was not paying attention either, so they would not have time to react to a fast attack.

But the creature crashed again against the invisible barrier.

"That was close again! Maureen, keep the barrier as long as you can!" the Doctor said.

"It's not me, Doctor. This is not my barrier," said the old woman.

"Is it Anya? Alain?"

"People, Doctor. It's the people who have raised this shield of courage," said Maureen smiling.

The Doctor looked fascinated, first to the human chain, increasingly long, and then to the sky, to the invisible barrier that protected them.

"Amazing. What an extraordinary race! Humble beings capable of doing great things only overcoming their fears. Do you see, Sarah? This is one of the reasons why I like humans so much."

The journalist did not answer. The Doctor then realized that the girl was not with him.

"Sarah?"


	18. Chapter 18

_"Doctor? Mrs. Conrall?"_

_When did it get dark? Sarah didn't know at what moment she had separated from the group or where she was. That was not the forest of the Nightmares! It seemed more like a lush green meadow, where there were no trees that impeded see the stars and the moon, big and bright. She definitely was not on Dedalion. Or maybe she was. Had they defeated the creature? Had the balance been restored? If so, where were the people? Where was the Doctor?_

_She advanced cautiously, hoping to find someone on the path to guide her to the nearest town. Perhaps they were waiting for her there. But all she could see was grass and vegetation. There seemed to be no town, not even any living being._

_She was all alone._

_Or so she thought. She would take ten or fifteen minutes walking when she saw something on the ground, lit by the light of the big moon. She moved closer slowly. Gradually she was discovering what it was. A naked body, inert ... Human ... A dead man? No, it was not a human being. As she approached, the face of the beloved Time Lord became clearer to Sarah._

_"Doctor!" the girl cried kneeling beside her friend's body. _

_He was lying on his back on the ground, motionless, wearing only his white boxers, and his body was covered with wounds, still fresh, bleeding. It seemed that he had been beaten and left there, in middle of nowhere, to die. Who had done it? But he was not dead, not yet. He was breathing very weakly and his both hearts were barely beating, but still could save his life if she found someone to help him._

_"Help! Anybody there?! Please!"_

_But no one answered and she could not leave him there alone._

_"Doctor, please wake up," she begged, worried and scared. "Help!"_

_They were alone and time was running out for the gallifreyan. He was dying and all she could do was stay with him, keep him company to avoid his loneliness. Tears of sadness and helplessness came out of Sarah Jane's eyes as she hugged her friend. _

_"Don't die, please. Open your eyes."_

_He was no longer breathing and his both hearts had stopped beating. The young journalist refused to accept what was happening. There, in that meadow and under the moonlight, the fourth incarnation of the Doctor breathed his last in the arms of Sarah Jane Smith._

_Salty tears were shed on his face. The bitter crying of sorrow gave way to another one of acceptance._ _After all it was not the end._

_The girl kissed his cold lips and carefully laid him on the ground again. The Time Lord had not really died, soon his body would change and he would return to life. She wiped her tears. She didn't want the first thing he saw when he woke up was her face wet with tears, although she really didn't care if he looked her like this. She didn't care if the first thing he said was 'silly girl, you know that I regenerate.' She knew it, of course, but even so she could not stand to see him suffer. His pain was also hers._

_How will be his new body? Younger? Older? Thin? Fat? Redhead? Bald? That was not important. All she wanted was to have her friend back, alive and in her arms. Together they would seek the TARDIS and would leave that place in search of new adventures, or perhaps looking for a quiet planet to rest._

_And the process started, but not the one expected by the young journalist. His body, rather than change, was disappearing._

"_Doctor! What happens?" she said touching with her hand the face, now transparent, of her dear friend._

_This should not be happening. He had not to disappear forever, he could not! _

_The whole world seemed to fall apart while Sarah was losing, once again, the man she loved._

_"Doctor!"_


	19. Chapter 19

"Maureen! It's Sarah, need help!" the gallifreyan shouted kneeling with his friend in his arms.

The Doctor had found Sarah enough away from people to be outside the protection of the invisible barrier, unconscious and trembling, unequivocal sign that the Nightmares had come inside and had caught her in her own dream. Now they had to help her before she finished dreaming. The white-eyed old woman was taking care of the human chain, making sure that there was no weak link, and the Time Lord didn't want to get closer there with the Trojan horse that was now Sarah Jane. Maureen approached the Doctor and took a quick look at the girl.

"You don't need me," she said. "You can save her."

"How?" the Doctor asked, nervous about the responsibility to save his dear friend.

"You know how to do it," Maureen replied, turning around to go back with the Katriax and their allies.

"Do I?"

"Listen to your hearts," was the last thing she said before going into the barrier.

Listen to your hearts. It was easy to say, but what are they supposed to say? The Doctor looked at his companion, hoping it would be easier to think what to do.

"Doctor, don't leave me," she said in dreams.

"No, no ... Sarah, I'm here. I'm with you," he said softly and loving.

_The gallifreyan had not completely disappeared yet. Sarah tried to grab him desperately, but slowly, agonizingly slowly, he was becoming increasingly transparent and intangible._

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane cried.

The cry of the girl reminded the Time Lord that time itself was against them. Every second he doubted she kept dreaming, coming to her end.

No, her end would not come. Before it was too late Maureen, Anya, or Alain would save her, but the golden people had put Sarah's life in his hands because he could do something. Sarah herself had put her life in his hands when she agreed to travel with him in the TARDIS. She trusted him.

"Doctor! Don't hesitate! You're endangering yourself too!" Maureen shouted.

He looked up and saw that they were surrounded by the black smoke beings. He lowered his head and returned his attention to Sarah. What did his hearts say? He was not used to that, it was easier to listen to his head. What did his head say?

Tick-tock, tick-tock. Time is running out. Hurry up!

His head was not helping. He was too terrified at the possibility of not being able to help his dear friend that could not form any coherent thought.

_Transparent ... intangible ... Sarah could barely see her friend and all that her hands touched was air._

"Doctor! Come back, please!"

The two hearts of the Time Lord were beating increasingly harder. He could feel them in his chest, he could hear them. They were beating strongly for Sarah. The answer was his companion. What did he feel about her? It was clear: friendship. Theirs was a true friendship; both of them would do anything for one another. He wanted her; she was his best friend, but that was all? No, that was a half-truth and a half-truth is a lie. What did he really feel about her?

_A strong earthquake began to open cracks in the ground. If the_ _world seemed to fall apart before, now it was doing really. Sarah didn't know what would happen before: if the Doctor finished disappear or she was swallowed by the ground, but she had already decided she would stay with him until the end, sharing the same fate._

One of the dark beings went towards the Doctor, who stood motionless, concentrating on the most pure and sincere feeling he had for his companion. He had it. He closed his eyes...

And kissed her.

The dark being was unable to penetrate the barrier that the Time Lord had raised with his kiss and backed away, while he was still transmitting his feelings of love to the depths of Sarah's consciousness to remove thus all fears and doubts that lived in her dream.

_The ground stopped shaking, but the young journalist could no longer see the Doctor's silhouette. She was torn, devastated. Although she was a strong woman she wanted to have died with him. She was alone. Completely alone, without the possibility of survive in that odious desert meadow. She stood up. She would seek a crack deep enough and would throw herself into it, but before get going, she looked one last time to where her friend had vanished. Her heartskipped a beat. The Time Lord was materializing himself before her eyes again!_

_"Doctor!" she said, turning to kneel beside him._

_The time traveller opened his eyes and looked at his companion._

_"You're alive!" she exclaimed joyfully._

_"Sarah ..." he said, touching her face with his hand._

_"I am here. What do you need?"_

_"Sarah ... Wake up."_

The Doctor slowly separated his lips from the young girl's to let the smoke creature left her body, which it did. The dark smoke remained floating in front of the Doctor, immobile.

"Hello, Darma," he said in a voice devoid of emotion.

He couldn't be absolutely sure, but something told him that the Nightmare that had tried to kill Sarah was the beautiful and lascivious young woman who showed in The Cave her displeasure for his friend. When the gallifreyan said her name, the creature of smoke moved away.

The Doctor lowered his head and looked at Sarah, who was waking up slowly.

"Welcome back, Sarah Jane," he said smiling.

"Doctor, what ...?" she said, a little dazed.

"You were attacked by the Nightmares."

The girl was disoriented. She looked around to see where they were and saw six black smoke beings circling around them.

"Look into my eyes," said the Doctor.

Sarah realized that she was hearing a song that came from a few meters behind them; a song that also could hear inside her own head, as if she had people singing inside. The Doctor's smile told the girl that something important and wonderful was happening there.

"Everyone ..."

"Don't worry about them, they're safe. Right now you and I are the only ones vulnerable. Look into my eyes and think about nice things."

"Nice things?" Sarah asked, as if thinking about nice things was a difficult task.

"Yes, nice things. Do one thing, I say a word and you answer the first thing that comes to your head. For example jelly babies."

"Lollipops."

"Cats."

"Dogs."

"Travelling in the TARDIS."

"Travelling with you."

"Really?" the Doctor asked surprised by the declaration of his friend.

"Of course. I really enjoy travelling with you, and I greatly value the time we spent together ... though you don't always seem to appreciate it."

"What?" he asked again surprised, this time in a negative way. That was like a stab in his chest.

"I mean I've left my world, my family, my job and my friends to be with you and it seems that you don't mind."

The Nightmares were moving around faster and faster, waiting impatiently for the doubts and fear completely dominate the hearts of the travellers.

"Sarah, this is not the best time to say these things," he said.

"This is the right time. Tell me, Doctor ... what do you feel about me?"

That was the best moment. His answer had to be totally sincere. Time seemed to go more and more slowly while the Doctor stared at Sarah, aware that his response would condemn them or protect them from the dark people.

"I'm the luckiest man in the universe because you are with me," he said, embracing his friend, protecting her from any enemy attack.

Sarah surrounded the back of the Doctor with her arms, protecting him, raising a new shield that moved away the Nightmares from them.

A loud bellow resounded throughout the town, or rather on the entire planet because the telepathic bond of the Dreams was still connecting all Dedalion. Strach roared furiously, trying to undermine the recently restored confidence of the dedalionites. The presence of Maureen and her people was reassuring for the Katriax and their allies, while Sarah closed her eyes to concentrate on hear only the song of courage, hugging the Doctor.

The Doctor. For the girl there was nothing else at that moment.

For the Time Lord it was different. It was time to face Strach.


	20. Chapter 20

Strach's eyes were fire. He was a stranger on Dedalion, emerged from the depths of who-knows-where to dominate all living creatures making use of fear, and to achieve his goal he had the help of Gideon and his dark people.

The Doctor's eyes were ice. He was a stranger on Dedalion fallen from the sky to liberate all living creatures making use of courage, and to achieve his goal he had the help of Maureen and her golden people.

That was the reason why the half-pterodactyl creature and the Time Lord had instantly recognized themselves as enemies and they both were trying to destroy each other: the Doctor was the opposite of Strach. A funny thought made the gallifreyan laugh. He was the golden unicorn.

"Are you alright?" Sarah asked, fearing that the sight of the creature had led the Doctor to madness.

"Yes, I am," he answered. "Sarah, listen to me. I'm going to finish what should never have started.

"You're going to face this monster," she said, more resigned than afraid.

The Doctor nodded.

"Whatever happens, whatever you see, don't be afraid. Trust me, please. It's very important that you are safe."

"Do what you have to do," she said.

"Good girl. Think about the dearest and precious thing to you," he said standing up.

"I'll think about you," said the girl. "My dear friend," she added quickly.

The Doctor stared at his companion and smiled.

"I was wrong, Sarah." The girl looked at him puzzled. "My companions. You are not my weakness, you are my strength," he said putting a hand on the girl's head.

The Doctor's eyes, warm with Sarah, again turned icy when he looked at Strach, which stood motionless, waiting for the Time Lord dared approach him. Sarah went to the human chain and took the hands of Lissenda and Gammel. As she didn't know the song, the girl concentrated all her thoughts on her friend, closing her eyes to not see him go towards the horrible monster. That would make her worry about him and open a crack in the invisible barrier. She would not be the weak link.

The time traveller didn't make the creature wait any more and took a step forward, and a second one, but before taking a third step he stopped short, unable to move, as if he was nailed to the floor. Strach had begun to fill his head with bleak images: ruins, fire, corpses and the only sound of the cries of children.

"Surrender yourself, Renegade. You have nothing to do against me," Strach said proudly, considering himself superior to his rival.

"That trick won't work with me again!" the Doctor shouted. "The key to face my fears has always been with me! Susan, Barbara, Ian ..."

The names of his former companions gave him enough strength to move his legs again. The gallifreyan was slowly approaching the bewildered creature.

"Vicki, Steven, Katarina ..."

Katarina.

The image of the Trojan girl floating dead in space made the Doctor stopped again, but instead of falling prey to the pain and give up, he smiled.

"She died for me, Strach! I'm not going to make her sacrifice be in vain! And the same goes for Sara Kingdom!"

He resumed his march towards Strach, which awaited him without moving a muscle, but the Doctor could see that his self-confidence was shrinking with every step he took.

"Dodo, Polly, Ben, Jamie, Victoria, Zoe ... What's wrong, Strach? You're trying to make me waver with your unpleasant images. However I'm not doing anything and you are increasingly scared."

He was almost there. He already could almost touch the monster. It had long since the dedalionites had stopped singing. Now everything was between the Doctor and Strach. The Nightmares had taken their human appearance and were watching the duel between those beings so different. A few meters away Maureen looked at Gideon, who winked at her. The golden old woman gestured in exasperation and refocused her attention on the traveller and the creature.

"Liz, Jo, Harry ..."

So many names, so many companions, and where were they? They had left him alone. All the time and space available to him and no one to share it. The Doctor saw himself completely alone. He stopped and Strach smiled triumphantly.

"Sarah," Maureen said. "Open your eyes, dear girl. You have to see this."

When the journalist opened her eyes she saw the Doctor in front of the creature. Neither of them was moving, but at that moment it seemed that Strach was superior to the Doctor.

"Doctor, you can do it. I trust you," the girl said softly.

As if he had heard the words of his companion (or maybe he really did it) the Doctor looked at Strach and smiled. He was not alone. There was still a name.

"Sarah Jane Smith," he said, pronouncing the full name, like if it was an injection of pure strength that helped him to take the last step.

"Hello, Little Beak. Untouchable? I think not."

The Time Lord reached out and touched the chest of the creature, which gave an agonized cry of pain while his body was deforming and decreasing in size.


	21. Chapter 21

Metamorphosis. That was what was happening to Strach. His body, huge, strong and monstrous was changing to something smaller and harmless. The half-pterodactyl winged creature became a human being before the astonished eyes of all who were in the Katriax territory. Everyone was surprised except Gideon and his people.

"I see," the Doctor thought. "The creature itself was the shield of fear of this man."

The man they had now before them was a young man, just a couple of years older than Xandra, of medium height, with black hair and green eyes: a Katriax man. Cautiously, people moved closer to the Doctor and the human, whose body had no clothes, eager to know who was hiding behind the awful creature. The Katriax people stood frozen, as if this man was even more frightening than Strach. Gideon smiled amused to see their stunned faces. It was Xandra who dared to speak to the man straight in the face.

"Taron!" she exclaimed. "It can't be you."

"Taron ..." the Doctor said thoughtfully. "Of course! Your body was never found."

"But what happened? How did you become that thing?" Mrs. Conrall asked.

"It all happened the day that Ionas and I went to the forest," Taron started telling, keeping a cold look continuously. "That stupid kid bet to see who dared to come closer to The Cave. At first it was just a game, but neither of us was prepared to lose, so we just going inside it. Gideon found us. He told us that our courage deserved a reward, that we could ask whatever we wanted. I agreed. I asked him for the power to have under my control the three races of men. Gideon reached out and turned me into Strach, a creature capable of instilling fear just by looking at it. Ionas became terrified. He tried to escape. I could not let that fool coward tell the others what had happened, so I killed him. I had to do it."

Xandra shook her head. She refused to accept the veracity of that story. Taron had been a good friend for a long time. How to imagine that his heart was blacker than his hair?

"Stupid fool," said the Doctor in a low voice that did not hide his anger. "The three races of men live in peace, maintaining a friendship between them. This is a utopia for most of the worlds and you have wanted to destroy it. Why?"

"It hasn't always been this way, Renegade. In Dedalion's history there are dark pages stained with blood. Now we are living in a period of peace, but how long will it last? Dedalion needs a supreme leader. Under my command the wars would end forever."

"It is true that our ancestors have fought in cruel wars just to get territories. Wars that have led nowhere and only have caused pain and loss, but we learned the lesson and we try to resolve our conflicts diplomatically. We have long been doing it and I do not think anyone is thinking of declaring a war," Lissenda explained the Doctor.

"I know," he said. "I think Strach ... Taron ... whatever you call it is trying to hide his selfish desire for absolute power." Taron looked at the Doctor with hatred. He was right. "I bet you wanted the post of Katriax leader, right?" he asked.

"I should have been the leader, and not Damon!"

"Damon Conrall was a good man, so we appointed him leader," said Cole. "And you've proven to be a wolf in sheep's clothing."

"Very well," Maureen intervened. "We already know the reasons of Taron for wanting to kill his friends, but what about you, Gideon? Why did you break the rules? Why did you start this nightmare?"

"Because peace is so boring ... This selfish jerk gave us the opportunity to have fun and at the same time satisfy a little curiosity. What will humans do if they encounter an evil that cannot be beat easily? Will they fight? Will they give up?"

"You have already seen that they have fought."

"But a stranger has had to come for it," said Gideon.

"Not exactly," said the Doctor. "They were prepared to fight before I arrived."

"Are you saying you were here by chance?" Gideon asked.

"There are no coincidences. I was the antithesis of Strach from the beginning. Also, I think I had something to learn here."

"And have you learned it, Time Lord? Are you a little wiser today than yesterday?"

"I am," he said in a whisper.

Sarah approached Xandra Conrall, who was still in shock, and put her hand on her shoulder to try to give some comfort to the betrayed woman. With the touch of the girl the Katriax woman reacted.

"You ..." she said walking slowly towards Taron. "You killed my husband and my son!" she cried giving a strong punch on the face to the naked man.

"Good punch, Mrs. Conrall," the Doctor said, smiling at the woman.

"Do it again, dear!" Gammel said. "If you don't do it, I will do it myself."

"My fist hurts," Xandra said with her fist still closed.

"What's going to happen now here?" Sarah asked.

"Well, I guess now they will have to decide the punishment of Taron, Maureen and Gideon will have to do something with the ominous atmosphere of the planet, the Katriax will have to choose their new leader ..."

"There is nothing to decide," said Cole. "Xandra will be our leader!"

The entire planet cheered for the decision that the brave woman will lead the Katriax people from now.

"Me? Are you sure?" she asked in surprise. She thought that Cole would occupy the vacant post of her husband.

"You'll do it great," Lissenda said shaking hands with the new Katriax leader.

"Taron's fate is in your hands now," the Doctor said.

The woman looked coldly at the man who once was her friend and now was the monster that killed not only her husband and son, but also many innocent people.

"He deprived us of our freedom, so he must pay the same price. He'll spend the rest of his life in Fengsel prison ..."

The green-eyed woman had not finished talking when they heard a slight snap. Instantly, Taron began to burn, screaming in pain, begging for mercy while his flesh was consumed by flames. The Doctor hugged Sarah, thereby preventing her to see the cruel scene that was taking place before them, before everyone, because Gideon had amplified the telepathic bond so that those who were not present there could see the brutal execution of Taron with the same clarity with which their leaders were seeing it. The screams of horror of the people mixed with the cries of pain of the man in flames.

"Horrible," Sarah muttered. The Doctor stroked his friend's hair without looking away from the flames, wondering if Taron really deserved that ending.

It was painful, but mercifully quick. In just a few minutes Taron was reduced to a pile of ash on the ground that Gideon stepped on with his foot.

"He had ceased to amuse me," he said. "Well, it's time to go, guys."

"One moment, Gideon," Maureen said in an authoritative voice. "You broke a rule and you must pay for it."

"And your guys broke another one, Maureen. They entered our sanctuary despite being forbidden to you. A broken rule by your people overrides another broken rule by mine. We are at peace. The balance is restored."

Maureen looked away. Gideon was right.

"It can't be the same thing," Sarah said indignantly. "The dark people broke a rule to kill people, while the golden people broke another rule to save the Doctor."

"Gideon killed and Maureen saved. The two sides have been holding the balance at all times. Gideon should not have created Strach, but Anya and the others should not enter The Cave, though they did to save me," the Doctor explained.

The explanation made sense, but it didn't convince Sarah too much. The evil act of the creation of a bloodthirsty monster had been invalidated by a daring rescue. The gallifreyan surrounded his friend's shoulders with his arm and smiled at her.

"Everything is well now. Look," he said, pointing to the sky.

The gray clouds were disappearing, leaving at sight the indigo sky. The orange sun was giving light and warmth to the world again and Sarah could see that the three nearest planets were visible in the sky even in daylight.

"You were right, Doctor. It's very different," said the girl amazed by the beauty of the planet. "You did it."

"No. We all did it."

"Well, if we have no further business to discuss we're going home. See you, sister," Gideon said walking towards the cave followed by his people.

"Sister?" the Doctor asked not believing what he had heard.

"We are the same people, Doctor. For this reason I don't like talking about my family."

"Doctor," Darma smiled lasciviously. "Do not forget to visit us the next time you land here," she said touching with her hand the bottom of the Time Lord. The Doctor winced as he felt the icy touch of the dark woman.

"What is it, Doctor?" Sarah asked worried to see the face of her friend.

"Her body is cold like ice. I have my bum frozen," he said in a low voice.

Sarah could not help laughing. After all, that was not the worst thing that the Nightmare woman could do him. The young journalist felt someone was touching her shoulder and when turning the head she saw Anya, who smiled at them.

"Everything has ended well thanks to you both."

"I have ended well thanks to you," replied the Doctor. "What are you going to do now?"

"We are going to take Gammel and Lissenda back to their homes and then we will erase some memories of what happened today. The execution of Taron is something that children should not have seen."

"Yes, it is better to clean their memory now that pay twenty years of psychologist," said the Doctor.

"Do you want us to erase any painful memory of your mind before you leave?" the golden woman asked.

"For my part it is not necessary. All experiences, good or bad, are part of who I am."

"For my part either. Thank you very much, Anya," said Sarah.

"Are you sure, Sarah?" the Doctor asked. "You've seen nasty things today." The Time Lord knew how traumatic it had to be for his companion to see him in the pitiful condition in which Strach and Gideon left him in The Cave.

"What does not kill you makes you stronger. Besides you've decided to remember the torture you were subjected. If one day I see you with your hand on the chest and a pained expression on your face or I hear you scream the word 'untouchable' in dreams, I want to know why," the girl said.

The Doctor stared at his friend. The young journalist wanted to remember the horrible moment just to comfort him when he needed it.

"You have a brave heart, Sarah," Anya said.

"Doctor, are you going already?" Xandra asked, accompanied by Cole.

"Yes. Here you are very busy now, and I'd like to rest a little in my TARDIS."

"I was hoping you could help me a bit in my job as a leader. I'm going to need your wise advice."

"My dear Mrs. Conrall," the Doctor said. "You don't need me. You'll do it right, I'm sure. Goodbye, Rhoks, Hent. Goodbye, golden people."

"Goodbye, my boy," Maureen said. "Do not forget us."

"I won't. Come on, Sarah. See you soon Dedalion!" the gallifreyan started heading towards the TARDIS.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Conrall. And don't worry, when the Doctor says he is sure of something, is that he is really sure," Sarah said hugging Xandra. "Goodbye everyone. Hey Doctor! Wait for me!"

"Are you ready now?" said the Doctor when Sarah caught him up.

"Yes, let's go. Doctor, will Mrs. Conrall be a good leader?"

"No. She will be a great leader. She will help Dedalion continue in peace for a long time, even after her death."

"Do you mean that the good relationship among the three races will not last indefinitely?"

"This planet has known wars and periods, fortunately prolonged, of peace. Now they are living one of those periods, a utopia, but complete utopia is unattainable and the hearts of men are easily corrupted by the power. But I'm not going to say anything more. I prefer to remember the planet in this way: in peace. There is still time until another Taron wants to rule over all Dedalion, and without the help of Gideon."

"Do you think Taron got what he deserved?"

"No," was his only answer that he said in a sad voice.

Sarah smiled. Despite what Taron had done him, the Time Lord felt sorry for him.

When they reached the TARDIS the Doctor began to feel the pockets of his jacket, trousers and vest, increasingly nervous.

"What's the matter?" Sarah Jane asked.

"I lost the TARDIS key. Gideon had to take it away from me."

"I have the key. You gave it to me before entering The Cave, remember?" the girl said handing over her forgetful friend the silver chain with the key.

"I'm very clever," said the Doctor opening the door with a smile.

Once inside the blue box he hung his hat on the coat stand and went to the control console while Sarah walked from one side to another thoughtfully. She could not get a thought off of her mind and she wanted to talk to the Doctor about that, but did not dare.

"Are you worried about anything, Sarah?" he asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. Do not worry, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"About what you said ... you're the luckiest man in the universe because I'm with you ... Did you say it seriously?"

"Do you think I lied to you?" he asked, completely serious, showing no pain caused by his friend's insinuation that his sincere words were not true.

"No ... not at all. You could not lie at that moment. It's just ... you'd never said anything like that ... you can be very cold but ..."

"I really appreciate you, Sarah."

"I know ... Oh, I misspoke. I'm tired. I go to sleep," she said. She was nervous and could not say what she really meant. Before continuing hurting her friend she preferred to go to her room to put her thoughts in order.

"Sleep well, Sarah Jane," he said with a friendly smile.

She smiled and went to her bedroom. The Doctor moved away from the console. He also needed some rest; it had been a very intense day for them both. He decided he would go to the library and sit comfortably with a good book and a disc of classical music, but when he reached the door of the library he passed by.


	22. Chapter 22

**Part II**

**The mind against the heart**

"Do you think I lied to you?"

Sarah felt guilty and ashamed. What she wanted was to apologize to him for having endangered him against the Nightmares, thank him the beautiful words he said to protect her and tell him that she was lucky to have him, but she misspoke while trying not to say more than she should, and although the Doctor gave an image of apparent normality she knew him too well to know that her erroneous words had done him more harm than Strach's claws. She was supposed to be his best friend, and now she should be on his list of the most dangerous enemies with the Daleks and the Sontaran.

Two soft knocks on the door took the girl out of her thoughts. The Doctor wanted to see her to say something, probably that he didn't want to spend more time with her. The journey of Sarah Jane Smith in the TARDIS had ended.

"Come in," she said shakily.

"Sarah, are you alright?" the Doctor asked when he entered the room of his young friend and saw her sitting on the edge of the bed with her face pale. She nodded, not daring to look at his face. "I've come to apologize."

"You?" she asked in surprise. "You haven't done anything; it's me who has hurt you."

"No ... It's not true. You were right. You left your whole world to be with me and I don't usually say how much I value your friendship."

"You don't do it with words, but you do it with your deeds. You are so attentive, affectionate and protective of me ... I should have never said you don't value me."

"A picture is worth a thousand words, but humans need to hear those thousand words to feel loved. But I find it hard to say certain things."

"Don't worry, Doctor. I know," she said with a slight smile on her face.

"What do you know?"

"The great Time Lord is a shy man."

"Don't go around saying it. I would be the laughingstock of the universe," he said jokingly.

"Your secret is safe with me," Sarah promised.

"Forgive me, Sarah Jane. I don't satisfy your human needs and yet I expect you to satisfy my Time Lord needs."

"No, you forgive me. How could I tell you that at that inopportune moment? I put you in danger ... all of us."

"It was my fault. You had a Nightmare inside knowing all your fears and insecurities. I released you from it in the battlefield and they took advantage of the weakness of your heart at that time to bring to light one of those fears to catch us again."

Sarah looked down ashamed. After so much time together, how could she fear that he did not feel affection for her? The young journalist felt a cool sensation on her left cheek. It was the Doctor, who had knelt before her and was stroking her face with his hand. He smiled at her reassuringly. It seemed that he had read her mind.

"The Nightmares know absolutely all your fears, even those that you overcame and forgot long ago. I know you don't doubt my friendship for you, and I don't doubt your friendship for me."

"Thanks," she said, smiling again.

"Are you better?"

The girl nodded.

"How is that I woke up immediately from the nightmare? Shouldn't I be sleeping now? Mrs. Conrall, you ... all of you slept after your attacks."

"You could not miss the rebirth of Dedalion. When I defeated your Nightmare I gave you part of my energy of regeneration for you'll recover sooner."

The gallifreyan's words stunned his companion. That was something very intimate and personal that she did not expect.

"How will this affect you?" she asked uneasily.

"Oh, don't worry about this. Maybe I just need to sleep tonight, or maybe my next wound does not heal easily, or my next regeneration may be a bit traumatic, or all that. In any case, I have no intention of finding out it immediately," he said in an unconcerned way.

"You share your own energy with me and I doubt your friendship. You must think I'm despicable."

"I don't," he said sincerely.

"Don't be so charming to me, Doctor. I don't deserve it."

"Of course you deserve it," he said kissing her on the forehead as he stood. "Get some rest and relax. If you need me I'll be in the library."

And having said this he turned around to leave the room, but the girl had one last question for him.

"Doctor, how did you wake me up from the nightmare?"

He stopped with his face frozen in an expression of fear. Sarah was a very important person for him; he loved her above all things. Telling her what he did could have harmful effects on their friendship. She did not feel for him the same thing he felt for her, and even if she did it, they both belonged to different species.

"I can't tell you," the Time Lord said with his back to the journalist.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because it would ruin our friendship."

"Oh, come on, Doctor. Only the sincere and pure feelings can defeat the Nightmares. Furthermore, you saved my life. Nothing you did could ruin our friendship. Come on, tell me."

"All right. I searched my most sincere and pure feeling for you ... and I kissed you."

"Did you kiss me?" she asked feeling her heart pounding in her chest.

He nodded.

"On my cheek?"

"On your mouth."

There was silence. The Time Lord closed his eyes tightly. He could face Cybermen, Ice Warriors, the Master ... but he was not able to face the anger of Sarah Jane. However, the girl's reaction made him open his eyes again, made him open his eyes wide.

"You kissed me ... And I can't remember it. It's not fair!"

"What?" he asked surprised, still with his back to her.

"I've dreamed so many times about this ... and when it finally happens I don't notice."

"Have you dreamed that I kiss you?"

"Of course I have. I ... Doctor ... I like you very much ... more than you think," she dared to say, grateful that he was not looking at the time.

"Sarah ... I ... I don't know what to say."

"Okay, don't say anything," said the girl. "I'm aware that between you and me there can be nothing but friendship. But ... you saved me with a kiss. Your most pure and sincere feeling for me ... I need to hear you say it. Doctor, do you love me?"

Without turning around he answered her, staring unblinkingly at the door instead of his beloved companion. It was easier that way.

"I think about you every moment of the day. I share your mood. Every time you smile at me the greyest day turns bright. I would do anything for you, even die for you. Tell me, Sarah Jane. Do I love you?"

"Yes, you do. Because that's exactly what I feel for you and I have no doubt that what I feel is love," the girl's heart stopped suddenly when she saw her friend lowering his head. "I'm sorry if this is not the answer you expected."

He shook his head.

"A part of me didn't want to hear this. The other part is happy to know that the most wonderful woman in the universe loves me."

"It's the mind against the heart. Hearts, in your case," she said. "The most wonderful woman in the universe? Don't you think you're exaggerating?"

"So I see you," he replied.

Sarah's face flushed.

"I didn't know you felt that for me," Sarah said. "For me you have always been a star I could never get to touch; the brightest one of the sky."

"Don't you think you're exaggerating?"

"So I see you."

Now it was the Time Lord who blushed. The young girl began to sob and the Doctor finally turned around to look at her pretty face.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" he asked.

"It's that I never thought that you could get to love me. You're a Time Lord and I am only a human."

"There's nothing 'only' about being a human, Sarah," said the Doctor, wiping her wet face with his thumb. Sarah smiled to recognize the words that she herself said on Peladon. He remembered them. "Besides, you're not only a human: you are Sarah Jane Smith."

"Doctor," Sarah said, standing up and looking at the Time Lord's eyes. "Kiss me."

"Sarah, I shouldn't do it."

"Did you like it?"

"Yes," he replied shyly.

"Then kiss me just once more. I wonder what it feels like to kiss you for real. Then I'll take that as another of my dreams if you want," she asked him while another tear fell down her face.

He could not refuse a request from Sarah. He took her by the shoulders, closed his eyes and kissed her tenderly on her lips.

"He's kissing me! He's really kissing me!" she thought not believing what was happening.

The girl also closed her eyes and got carried away by the coolness and the sweet taste of the mouth of the Doctor. He probably had eaten a jelly baby on the way. After a few delightful and pleasant seconds he slowly separated his mouth from the young girl's.

"No ..." Sarah said with a whisper. "Don't stop."

His body was no longer controlled by his mind. The Doctor pulled her to him, holding her tightly and gently at the same time and put his lips on hers again. His tongue touched Sarah's mouth and she opened it slightly, allowing his tongue found hers, mixing the subtle tastes of their mouths while her hands were lost in his curly hair. When that passionate kiss ended they both were panting.

"It's hot," Sarah said.

"It's hot even for me," the gallifreyan agreed.

She looked him up and down. All he had removed when entering the TARDIS was the hat.

"You're wearing too many clothes," she said taking the multicoloured long scarf off his neck.

"What are you doing?" he asked confused while his companion dropped the scarf to the floor.

"I'm making you comfortable."


	23. Chapter 23

"There is something you have in common with Taron. Both of you hide your true self behind a shield. In your case, it is a shield of coldness," said the young journalist leaving his jacket on the floor.

"Sarah, please ..." said the Doctor when the girl began to untie his red neckerchief.

"Don't be shy with me, Doctor. I'm not going to see anything that I haven't seen before."

"Very funny," he said, his face flushed, looking down, but allowing his friend to continue removing his clothes.

"More than a shield, you have built a fortress all around you," she said, taking his vest off. "This is right when you have dangerous enemies before you." Now she was unbuttoning his shirt little by little. "But I'm not your enemy. I'm your friend and I want to get to you, your real self." She undid the last button, sliding the white shirt to the floor with the rest of his clothes.

Sarah stared at the Doctor's bare torso. He remained motionless and without looking at her face. He was too nervous and embarrassed to do so. The girl timidly reached out and touched his chest, as he had done previously with Strach. She put her hand just in the middle, so she could feel the beat of his two hearts, a strong and intense heartbeat that was racing increasingly. She looked him in the face. He hardly showed reaction, good or bad, just a slight trembling of his body and his breathing was following the rhythm of his heartbeat. Sarah moved her hand towards his left pectoral and put her left hand on the right, sliding them gently downwards, moving slowly not to scare him. He closed his eyes, not in a gesture of disgust but quite the opposite. The warm caress of the girl gave him a pleasant sensation that he could not hide. Encouraged by this positive reaction, she slowly brought her face to his chest and brushed it with her lips. He showed no signs of wanting her away from there and she pressed her lips, kissing his skin once ... then another ... and another. Her tongue touched his left nipple and she smiled at the soft moan of pleasure that escaped his mouth.

"Stop her. This mustn't go on," said the voice of the Doctor's mind.

He also had long dreamed of this moment. The moment in which their bodies were so close that the only movement possible was the mutual touch, but despite being so close they were light years away from each other, specifically two hundred fifty million light years, the distance from Gallifrey to Earth, the distance that separated the two races, apparently so similar but so different in reality. He was a Time Lord with thirteen lives (of which he had already lost three), while Sarah only had one. How could he make her happy? How could she be happy with him?

But there it was the beautiful young Sarah, offering the Time Lord the forbidden fruit, tempting him with sweet kisses and nice caresses on his bare skin, making vanish of his mind any thought that does not focus only on her.

This was the most desired and feared moment for him: the moment of the most painful happiness.

"Stop her before it's too late," his mind said again.

It was right and the gallifreyan knew it. He had to break the tender heart of the girl now to avoid her yet more suffering in the future.

"Sarah ..." he said, feeling that his voice didn't want to come out of his mouth.

He steeled himself and bowed his head towards her at the same instant that Sarah lifted hers to face him. Their lips touched again a third time.

Far from stopping the close contact of the journalist, he wrapped her back with his arms and he kissed her mouth as if that was the last time he did.

"You weak coward," said his mind while his hearts beat with joy as he felt the girl against his chest.

Without separating their lips, Sarah slowly took the Doctor to the edge of the bed, where he sat and she untied his shoes and took them off along with his socks, and then he did the same with her boots and socks. They lay on the bed and continued their kiss where they left off.

The tongue of the Doctor played in Sarah's mouth while his hands roamed the journalist's body, covered by the soft green fabric of her dress. She caressed with her small hands the parts of his skin not covered by clothing: his face, his neck, his chest. He had no doubt about his feelings; he had no reason to hide them. He loved her. He wanted that moment of fiery passion never end. He didn't want to let her go. He wanted to bring happiness to his beloved companion. He wanted to be with her the rest of her life. He wanted ... He wanted to give her all that he could not give her.

The Doctor ceased the movement of his mouth and his lips and closed his eyes tightly, but that didn't stop the girl, who continued to work with her mouth the body of her dear friend, kissing his chin and going down slowly from his neck to his chest, licking playfully his left nipple first, then the right one, revelling in the moment, enjoying the soft moans that that sweet torture caused in him, feeling how his body shudder under hers.

The soft and wet lips of the human girl against his skin made him feel guilty for not being able to stop her. He didn't want to stop her. Her female hands rested on his hips while she continued her way with her lips, giving short, repeated kisses on his abdomen and downwards, but she found another piece of the protective barrier of the Doctor. He suddenly opened his eyes, stifling a silent cry to notice the slim and deft fingers of the journalist unzipping his trousers, a strong barrier that in the hands of Sarah was just a piece of clothing that she pulled out of his body almost without difficulty. She laid her eyes on the half-naked Time Lord. He had turned his head the other way, his breathing was getting faster and the blush on his face made him more attractive to her eyes. She brought her hand to his cheek and slid it gently across the surface of his bare skin, doing the same route that her mouth did before, reaching his stomach, where her fingers traced delicately the outline of his round navel, now exposed. She led her gaze once again to his face and his entire body, watching his reaction. Every kiss, every touch, made him shudder. Long ago he hadn't been in that situation, and every time someone had touched his flesh it had been to hurt him. He was like a beaten animal that distrusted even the friendly hand.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she said, trying to comfort him with her voice and her caresses.

He didn't respond. His body was now a battlefield where his mind and his hearts struggled to gain control.

Sarah continued running her open hands down his flat stomach, putting the tip of her fingers under the elastic waistband of his boxers and pulling them down slightly...

"Sarah! Stop it!"


	24. Chapter 24

"You finally react," Sarah thought, smiling.

The girl stopped playing with the white piece of underwear, kissed his tummy and sat beside him, with her back against the headboard. The Doctor avoided her eyes and was breathing heavily, as if he had done the hardest thing of his life.

"Okay, no problem," she said stroking his brown curls.

"Aren't you angry?" the Doctor asked, his voice weak and nervous.

"Angry? Not at all. I just asked you a kiss, and you have given me three." She smiled. "Even you have left me know the taste of your skin," she answered. There was no anger or disappointment in her voice, only a delightful happiness that the Time Lord didn't understand. He hadn't responded to her caresses. Even he had stopped her to continue touching him. "I won't do anything you don't want me to do."

"I want ... but I can't," he said in a sad voice.

"I know this isn't easy for you. Are you afraid?"

"Yes," he replied with sincere voice, fearing that the great image that his friend had of him be clouded by the insecurity that he was showing before her.

"Of me?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"I'm afraid to hurt you."

"Why would you hurt me?"

"Because I always do. I've always had company in my travels. I have wanted to show my companions the wonders of the universe, wonders that they can only dream of. I've tried to be good companion for them, a friend, but at the end I always screw up and they end up leaving me to redo the lives that one day I ruined." His voice was sad and melancholic. Sarah hadn't realized until that moment of the suffering that this powerful, almost invincible being was hiding in the depths of his two hearts.

"Doctor ..." she said, trying to find words of comfort.

"Yes ... in the end I always end up alone. So it must be," he said, forming on his lips the saddest smile that Sarah Jane had seen in any living being ever.

"Doctor, no matter the distance between us; you'll never be alone," she said looking at him with a look sincere and full of confidence, like who asserts without equivocation that the Earth revolves around the Sun.

Hearing her promise of eternal friendship he pulled her to him and hugged her, resting his head on her chest. She was human and would need to hear a thousand words that expressed his gratitude, but right now the Time Lord could not utter a word. If she needed words he would find them, but she would have to wait a bit. Sarah wrapped her arms around the back of the Doctor, and smiling sweetly she kissed his head covered with tousled brown curls. It was her way of saying "I know." She no longer needed to hear a thousand words. Their body language said more.

"Since when, Sarah?" he asked after a few minutes, when he finally relaxed a little.

"Since when what?" she asked loosening the embrace to her friend.

"Since when do you ... do you like me?" there was genuine curiosity in his voice, as if he couldn't believe what happened since he came into her bedroom.

"Since I met you," she replied. "You're a man of great magnetism and I felt attracted by your kindness, your wisdom and your mysterious personality."

"I was aware of it," he confessed.

"So, why are you surprised that my feelings for you have grown to this point?"

"Because I changed, Sarah," he said with a voice so serious and deep that it almost made the girl shiver. "Not only my body, even my personality. The part of me that you wanted is dead."

"The body changes, especially in your case, and the character also varies throughout our life, but who you really are never changes. You're still that man who can't stay still and watch the suffering of the people. That man who doesn't hesitate sacrifices himself for the good of others, even if it costs him his life. That man who makes me laugh even when there's no reason for it. That man who makes me feel the most special woman in the world, in the universe, for having chosen me as his companion. That's you. That's the man I see when I look at you."

"That's the nicest thing someone has said to me in centuries," he said in a voice low but loving, looking into her eyes. "You think like a Time Lord."

"Is that good?"

"In this case it is. You see inside people, you don't look only the body, subject to many changes throughout our life."

"But I thought you liked your new body," she said, raising her eyebrows in surprised expression.

"Of course I like it. It's young, agile, strong ... but its face is not perfect. I don't know if it's ... well, I don't know if you like it," he concluded, his voice almost inaudible, but Sarah heard it perfectly.

"Oh, Doctor," Sarah said smiling. "Did you think my superficial human eyes see you as someone ugly?" She watched how he lowered his look embarrassed. "But if you're as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside!"

"Really?" he asked and the girl nodded. "My eyes look bulging."

"They are big and expressive."

"My mouth is toothy."

"You have the most charming smile I've ever seen."

"My ears ..."

"I like your ears," she interrupted him, stroking the profile of his left ear and behind it, causing a shudder of his body along with a slight laugh that completely escaped his control. Sarah smiled in a mischievous way. The Doctor had tickled behind his ears! "I think I've found a weak point I can use against you."

He smirked and began to apply slight and repeated strokes and pressures on the ribs, armpits and legs of his friend, causing her the same reaction.

"Weak point? You are full of them!" he said torturing his companion, whose eyes began to leave tears from laughing so hard.

"Stop! Stop it, please!" she said between laughing and laughing.

"Ha! I win," he exclaimed triumphantly.

"No," she said leaving on the tip of his nose a soft kiss that caught the gallifreyan totally unprepared. "I win."

"Surprise factor. You cheater," he said frowning in a charming gesture of disgust.

"Doctor," Sarah gasped, trying to recover herself from the Time Lord's tickle attack. The question required a bit of seriousness on her part. "Since when you feel this for me?" she asked looking into his blue eyes, which had been overshadowed again at the question.

"When I met you, I was fascinated by your strong and independent personality, for your courage and the kindness of your heart. So I didn't hesitate to choosing you as my new assistant. I've always appreciated you a lot and I wanted to be like a father to you."

"Yes, you have always been very paternal with me," said the girl, giving an affective smile to her friend.

"But you're a very attractive woman, and that doesn't go unnoticed even to my Time Lord eyes. In the time you've been with me you've grown and your beauty also has. Before I knew it I wasn't thinking of you as my daughter, but ..." his voice broke.

"But what?" she asked.

"But I changed. I changed to a very different man than I was before, and you seemed to be very close to Harry, moving away from me."

"You know I love Harry in a different way from how I love you," she said.

"Yes, but Harry is ..."

"What?"

"Human," he uttered that word with sadness and bitterness. That was the word that best defined what he wanted to convey to his dear friend. Human. Human as she was.

"So what?" she asked.

"You don't understand, Sarah. I'm not human. I can't satisfy all your needs. I can't treat you like you really deserve. So I buried my feelings for you in the depths of my being."

"And now you regret bringing them out into the light," she said wanting to cry, swallowing hard to choke back the tears that wanted to flow from her eyes.

"The last thing I want to do is hurt you, Sarah. It has made me very happy to know that you love me too, but I can't make you happy. You'd be wretched with me and I couldn't live knowing that I shattered your life."

"I see. I know you're not like me. I know that when my life ends you'll have still much to live, but even so I am ready to risk and love you, even for a short time, that not loving you ever. You, however, prefer to live without love for fear of suffering and being abandoned. That's like resign yourself to die without a fight."

The Doctor stared at the ceiling and said nothing, his eyes completely empty, with Sarah Jane's words repeating in his mind. His young companion had hit one of the reasons why he had raised his protector shield before her.

"Doctor ..." the girl was afraid she had done something horrible. He was in a vulnerable moment and needed mainly to his friend. He was sharing with her his most secret feelings and fears and she had been somewhat rude to him. She understood why he was afraid to love her. Although she had spoken with great confidence, she was also scared of the gulf that separated them.

"I'll take my clothes and go to my bedroom," he said totally discouraged, as if he no longer had the strength to continue that conversation.

"Is that what you want?"

"No..." he said faintly.

"Then stay. We don't have to do anything you don't want to do. We can see a movie as two good friends. We can make popcorn!"

"Whatever decision I make, I'll regret it tomorrow," he said. It seemed that the choice of the movie, the easiest one, was not on his list.

"Even the popcorn?"

That question brought a smile to the Time Lord, relaxing the tension that had formed in the bedroom. Sarah smiled back, glad to see he was not upset with her.

"Yes, if I eat too much," he replied.

"So the question is what you don't want to regret tomorrow," said Sarah. "Whatever decision you make, I'll accept it. I promise you won't lose my friendship ever. It will be legendary," she smiled and laced the fingers of her hand with his, thereby reinforcing the effect of her words.

The Doctor smiled at her and closed his eyes to think carefully about the decision he had to make. Whatever it was, it would change their lives forever.

"He'll listen to his mind. He always does," Sarah Jane thought sadly while she watched her dear friend debating with himself once again between what he had to do and what he really wanted to do.


	25. Chapter 25

His subconscious travelled back in time. He saw himself in UNIT headquarters, with his new body, offering Sarah Jane a jelly baby. Just a jelly baby, no need for more words. If she picked one, it meant that she recognized in that man to her dear friend. If she refused it, their travels together, their feelings, everything would end there.

The moment that the girl took the candy was the happiest he lived in a long time. Gradually his feelings were evolving from strong and close friendship to pure love, and Sarah became the most important person in his life, though she gave no sign of seeing him as more than just her dearest friend. He slowed up his desire to confess his love to the girl for fear that she'd reject him. He couldn't bear her rejection. He couldn't bear to take her back to her house. He couldn't bear to live without her.

But there was another reason why he didn't dare to talk about his feelings with her. What if she accepted him? That would be even worse. Her time was short. She'd get old and die while he'd regenerate over and over again, and he did not control the appearance of his incarnations. She might be sixty years old and he might have a body that does not appear more than thirty. That would be hard for her and terrible for him, because the last thing he wanted was to see her suffer.

And he was being optimistic. He was assuming that Sarah would get old travelling with him. Life with him was very dangerous and he had already lost companions in the most painful way.

The things should stay as they were: the great Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith, his faithful companion and friend. He saw himself putting his feelings for her in a black Sakkanitta coffin and burying them on a cemetery planet from where he hoped they not to come back to out. That was the best he could do.

He began to feel a sharp pain in his chest and closed his eyes. When he opened them he saw he was back in The Cave, naked, immobilized, and with Strach's claws squeezing his chest viciously. The creature laughed so loudly that the gallifreyan thought his eardrums would burst before his hearts did.

Nothing would save him from this. His bright head could not help at this time. Cold, darkness, oblivion. His eyes closed again and this time he wouldn't wake up, but he could still see a little light, he could hear a voice, he could feel warm tears falling on his skin.

"Doctor," said the voice of his beloved Sarah Jane.

Warmth, light, love. That was all he needed.

Slowly the Doctor opened his eyes, coming out of his trance. Sarah looked at him expectantly. Whatever it was his decision she would accept it, but she couldn't deny herself that she wished him to accept his true feelings for her. The few minutes he had remained in his state of total abandonment of reality had seemed an eternity to the young journalist. His big blue eyes searched the girl, his expression still cloudy prevented Sarah sensed any response.

"I've made my decision, Sarah," he said in a serious and weak voice.

"Popcorn?" she asked trying to sound cheerful and carefree, but inside she felt that her star was moving away from her again.

"Tomorrow, if you fancy," the Doctor answered caressing her long brown hair with his hand, brushing a lock of hair from her face.

"Are you going to listen to your hearts, Time Lord?" she asked, raising her eyebrows but without leaving the jovial tone adopted prior.

"Yes. Yes, why not? I'm seven hundred forty-nine years old, I've died three times, I'm living my fourth incarnation and all the time I've always done what I had to do, even if I didn't like it at all. I have seen good and innocent people die. I have had to let wars and other avoidable misfortunes happen only because history says they must occur. I've always followed the rules, I've always done what is expected of me, what I must do, although nobody seems to care what I want. I am a living being who thinks and feels. I also have dreams and aspirations in my life. Today I've been captured and tortured in the most ruthless way imaginable. I almost died definitely, and I could only think of you. Throughout our travels I've had hundreds of opportunities to tell you that I love you, and I have left to escape all of them. Today I have regretted not having done so. Never again, Sarah. This won't be easy for either of us, but I don't want to resign myself to die without a fight. I want to love you, Sarah Jane Smith; I want to do this if you also want. What do you say?" he said, taking her delicate hands in his and smiling broadly at the girl, still breathing rapidly, eagerly awaiting her reply.

Reply that never came. Sarah was staring at him, but she was in shock. She had always wanted him to open his hearts, and when he finally did, all his words, reflection of a great variety of feelings ranging from anger to love that he had been keeping for long, were for her. It was a very moving declaration and he had expressed it so passionately that she could not react. She wanted to hug him, kiss him, tell him that she loved him, shriek ... but she didn't know what to do first.

His smile was fading slowly as frightening thoughts came to his mind merciless. What if, after having declared his love she had realized that she actually didn't feel the same for him? What if she had confused love with friendship? That kind of confusion was very common among humans.

Hiding his concern and sorrow, the Time Lord closed his eyes and let out a nervous laugh.

"What a pathetic speech," he said, breaking the awkward silence, keeping his eyes closed to not see the stunned and confused face of Sarah Jane, with her eyes wide open, staring at him.

He opened his eyes when he felt the girl's mouth covering his.

"Forgive me, I had to have said something, but my damn tiny human mind didn't find the right words," she said, caressing his face. The Doctor saw surprised that she was crying. "But you don't need words," she concluded, putting her lips on his again, kissing his mouth so intensely that the concern completely abandoned her dear Doctor.

She separated her lips from his and drew a wonderful smile on her wet face.

"I think that today I'm crying too much," she said laughing while crying.

"Tears of joy are welcome," he said, wiping her face with his cool hand. "But I don't know how to react to them."

"You can embrace me, for example," despite her crying her voice was a sensual purr for him. He gently wrapped the girl in his arms and laid her head on his chest.

"I did it, Sarah. Of course I did it," he whispered in her ear as if he were confessing a secret.

"What did you do?" she asked, not knowing what he was referring.

"I dreamed of you in the golden temple."

"Can you remember it?" she asked with surprised expression, raising her eyes to meet his.

"Yes. Maureen showed it to me when she buried my nightmare."

"Then why did you tell me you didn't remember it?"

His lips formed a shy smile while he looked at her as if she had asked the most obvious thing in the world.

"Fear. I was afraid that you'd laugh at me for consider you the most important thing in my life," he confessed. Now he felt like a fool for having thought that.

"And I was wishing to hear you say it," she confessed too.

"I didn't know it. You never gave me the impression of feeling for me more than friendship."

"Because I never thought that you could feel for me more than friendship. I've spent all this time pretending, hiding my true feelings, and it has been very difficult, believe me."

"I believe you," he said smiling. "I've been doing the same, but we no longer have to hide them anymore." He gently lifted her chin with his hand and kissed her.


	26. Chapter 26

"Are you serious?"

"I haven't been more serious in my life."

Sarah wanted to shriek, but she thought that if she did it he would change his mind, so just smiled widely.

"And now, if I remember correctly you were doing something, but I was not focused on it, so I couldn't enjoy it. Would you mind repeating it?" his face assumed an expression of innocent child.

"Oooooh! Pay more attention next time! That was a one-off performance," she said with mock disgust. Then she smiled. "Now comes the second act."

The girl brought her mouth to his neck and began to cover it with small kisses. Upon reaching under his ear she licked the zone and, taking a small portion of flesh, she began to suck and nibble gently, leaving her mark on the skin of the gallifreyan, who responded with slight purrs of pleasure. Once she had left the chosen skin surface sufficiently flushed, she proceeded to lick and nibble both his earlobe as ear.

"Wonderful," he gasped. "You can do really amazing things with your tongue."

"Thanks, but don't think I do this with anyone," she said, smiling.

"No ... not at all," he realized that his words could be easily misinterpreted and tried to correct his mistake. "I know you're a modern woman and you decide what to do with your body and all that, but I haven't thought at all that you're out there ... Ooh!" he suddenly interrupted his hectic wordiness when noticing a warmth between his legs that ran through his whole body. While he was speaking Sarah had slipped her hand under his boxers and had closed it around his member.

"You talk too much. Are you nervous yet?" she asked, caressing the delicate organ with her slim fingers. Her voice was calm and sensual, but inside she was on the verge of tachycardia.

He nodded. There was no reason to lie to her.

"Long ago I haven't this kind of relationship with anyone. I'm a little rusty."

"And do you think you'll do it wrong? Quiet, that's not important to me."

"Isn't it?"

She smiled and shook her head. She took her hand out of his underwear before answering.

"Being so close to you is what makes me happy. What matters to me is that you are no longer hiding from me. Today I feel I'm getting to know your real self."

"You're a good girl," he whispered smiling.

"Your problem now is that you're thinking too much. Let your mind go blank. Don't think; just feel."

"What do I have to feel?" he asked in voice deep and suggestive.

"Feel ... this."

She took with her hands the Doctor's face and kissed his forehead, his cheeks, his nose, pausing in his mouth, letting their tongues play together once more, impregnating her mouth with the taste of his while her fingers caressed his closed eyelids, his cheeks, his ears (with their consequent tickle). She ran her hands slowly down his neck at the same time that her mouth did it too, she took them to his shoulders and travelled his arms and forearms up to his hands, which she grabbed in hers and gently took them over his head. His face reflected a slight sign of distress. For a moment, trick of his subconscious, it seemed that that submissive posture had made him remember The Cave again, but soon he relaxed to recognize the soft and warm touch of Sarah instead of Gideon's electric shocks or the damn claws of the creature. The girl caressed his arms, his elbows, his armpits. She was a little disappointed to see that he wasn't ticklish there. What she wanted with her affectionate caresses was him to feel relaxed with her touch, while also she thoroughly studied all of his magnificent body.

The gallifreyan still shuddered with her touch, but now he was accepting it with pleasure. The warmth of Sarah was raising his body temperature, melting the ice within him, causing the appearance of small drops of sweat on his rosy skin. The journalist also noticed a drop of sweat going down lazily between her own breasts while caressing the feet and legs of her beloved Time Lord. She brought her hands to his chest; she licked his nipples, nibbling them gently. His moans of pleasure were music to the ears of the young journalist. Her mouth made its way to his belly, with her tongue moistening his sweaty skin even more. She watched his face, his placid expression. She had gotten her goal. She had managed to plunge the Doctor again into a state of almost total abandonment of reality. There was only one thought in his head.

"Sarah ..." her name escaped his mouth and came to the girl as a gentle caress for her ear.

She smiled with pleasure and continued giving wet kisses on his belly and licked his navel, putting her hands in the waistband of his underpants. She searched his eyes, asking permission before doing anything and he replied with a sweet smile on his face, lifting his hips to make it easier to her. She felt like a child opening his Christmas present. She pulled the white boxers downward, sliding them out of his body.

The last piece of the barrier between her and the Doctor had been eliminated.

Sarah knelt on the bed to leave the boxers on the pile of clothes and stayed in that position watching the naked body of the Doctor, feeling her eyes moist and her heart beating of pure desire for him. He was panting, his blue eyes looking insecure at the young girl, silently asking a question already answered.

"You're the most beautiful man I've ever seen," she said, aware of his fears.

He smiled and extended his arms to the girl in an invitation and she came into them, hugging him, receiving on his part a kiss of gratitude, love and desire. He held her in a tender way, but at the same time so strong that there was not option for the girl to escape. Anyway, that idea hadn't even crossed her mind.

Loneliness may be desired by some people, but his way to embrace her body, taking hold of her, sent Sarah a clear signal of "Stay with me." Her lonely star didn't want to be alone. She pulled him closer to her, pressing his body against hers.

"You are not alone. I am with you," she thought. She wanted him to know it, though her mouth didn't utter a word.

She raised her eyes and felt a blush spreading from her cheeks to the rest of her face. He was watching her, smiling from ear to ear. She had forgotten that he was a telepath, and although he had never invaded her mind, she was thinking so strongly that he would have heard her as if she had spoken directly to his ear. She separated a little her body from his and looked away shyly, at his right hand. Then she saw why he was smiling: at some time between the kiss and the hug he had removed the brown belt that cinched her waist.


	27. Chapter 27

"I wonder when you've done that," Sarah said, staring at the belt that the Doctor had just dropped to the floor.

"What can I say? You're amazing with your tongue and I'm with my hands," he smiled modestly. "I've already said I'm a little rusty on this, but if I remember something correctly is that we both must dress alike, and since I don't look good in green dresses you have to get rid of yours."

"Now I want to see you in a green dress," she said, laughing at the thought of seeing him wearing a dress identical to hers.

"You don't want that, believe me," he said. By his tone of voice it seemed that the resulting image would be very traumatic.

"We could do an exchange of clothing," she insisted with a laugh.

"Oh, shut up and come here," he said pulling her into his arms again, kissing her mouth, and caressing her back while he slowly unzipped her dress.

Without leaving their game with kisses and caresses they sat on the bed to make it easier to removal of clothing. His big hands travelled down her small body to the hem of the dress. He grabbed it and pulled the green garment up, discovering a black tulle bra and matching knickers. He swallowed hard to see her nipples marked against the thin fabric of the bra. He caressed her hair, her face, slid down her neck and returned to her back, where he unhooked her bra and removed it slowly, trying not to look anxious of wanting to discover the hidden beauty of Sarah. He grabbed tightly her back and with a swift movement he laid her on the bed, thereby obtaining a better view of her pretty body, but still there was something that stood between him and her entire skin. He brought his hands to her hips and, with the same slowness with which he had removed the dress and bra, he took her knickers off.

She looked slightly fearful how he ran through her body from top to bottom with his eyes. Now it was she who felt insecure, because, unlike the Time Lords, she only had that body and didn't know if he liked it.

"You're so beautiful," he said dazzled by the beauty of her figure, reassuring the young girl.

As attracted by a force greater than he, the Time Lord gently caressed the delicate skin of one of the small and round breasts of Sarah, making the girl shiver nervous. He pulled his hand away.

"Sorry. My body temperature is low and my hands are rough. My touch shouldn't be very pleasant" he apologized cursing to himself the differences between their races.

"It's not that, quiet. I like your touch," she said, holding his hand.

"Then what happens?"

She shook her head.

"Never mind."

"Please, Sarah. If something goes wrong I need to know it," he insisted.

"It's just ... well ..." she hesitated. She was worried about his reaction, but on seeing concern also in him she decided to release it all at once. "It's my first time with an alien!"

He stared at the girl without blinking, opening and closing his mouth trying to say something but not knowing exactly what. Then he began to laugh out loud. He wasn't laughing at her; it was one of those genuine laughs that he only showed in the presence of Sarah. He lay down beside her.

"Oh, Sarah. You're as scared as I am," he said lacing his fingers with hers. "That's reassuring."

"I lost my guise of woman sure of herself in matters of love," she smiled a little embarrassed.

"Quiet, it's an understandable fear, but you don't need to worry about. Time Lords can make love like humans do. Apart from a low body temperature and the beat of two hearts, you shouldn't find much difference between do it with me and do it with someone of your own kind. However, I understand if you're not prepared. We don't have to do it here and right now, this isn't thing of just one night, I promise you. Don't worry, I can wait for you."

Sarah looked at him and gave him one of those sweet smiles of her that he so adored.

"I want to do it, Doctor. We've waited long enough, don't you think?"

"Are you sure, Sarah?"

"I'm sure. I'm sure I love you. I'm sure I'm prepared for doing it with you and I'm sure it will be wonderful."

The Doctor took the girl's face with his hands and joined his lips to hers as she took one of her small hands to his member and massaged it with gentle movements. Definitely he had to be asleep; this had to be what humans called Paradise!

How long had he didn't feel so good? It had been a long time since he left his home, his family, his name. He had devoted himself to travel through time and space to face unimaginable dangers. He had seen so much misery in the universe that thought he could never again feel warmth in his frozen hearts, but all that changed the day he met Sarah Jane. He couldn't remember when the last time he loved in that way was, but now all that mattered was the present. He brought his mouth to her ear and whispered three words. Three simple words that for Sarah were the most beautiful thing he could tell her.

"My Sarah Jane."

She had ceased to belong to herself. Sarah Jane Smith, owner of her own body, heart and mind now belonged entirely to the Doctor. She hugged that wonderful man and whispered the answer to his words.

"My love."

Fear, nightmares, pain, death. Invincible warriors, constant companions of the Time Lord, had vanished. They had met their end at the hands of a small human woman, armed only with her love for him.

The Doctor sat up on bed to contemplate the beautiful naked figure of Sarah. She looked at his face. His expression had changed; he no longer had the frightened eyes of a child lost in the dark. Now he had the look of a hunter, and she was his prey. Sarah had never been easy prey for any man, but she and the Doctor had already played a lot to avoid each other. And now she wanted to be taken by him. She arched her body, offering it to his complete pleasure.

Everything else had ceased to exist.


	28. Chapter 28

There was neither time nor space. There were no enemies or problems. There was no one else, only the Doctor and Sarah Jane.

He responded to her provocation grabbing both sides of her body under her armpits and lowering his head to her right breast. He covered it with kisses, slowly going down to her nipple, which licked and sucked, capturing it between his teeth, wetting not only her bosom but also between her thighs.

"You are amazing with your mouth too," she gasped.

He smiled and did the same thing on the other breast for later move around her shoulders and her slender neck, licking it, giving small bites that made her fair skin redden and causing moans escape from her throat that delighted his ears like the most beautiful symphony. He caressed and kissed her arms, her hands. He put the tip of her fingers in his mouth, enjoying the salty taste without losing sight of her pretty face, very image of the pleasure she felt. Then he focused his attention on her thighs, her legs, and her feet. He caressed the dark curls of her crotch while her fingers tangled in his brown mussed hair. He was making his every part of her body paying attention to her reactions to make sure she was enjoying his touch as much as he.

Were all the Time Lords as fiery and passionate as him? No, they weren't. He was different, she knew it. He was able to silence the voice of his mind and let the desire guide his movements. He was hugging her, caressing her and kissing her with such intensity that it seemed that their bodies would merge into one, but Sarah wanted more. She increasingly longed to feel him inside. She opened her legs, inviting him to come into her wet sex.

He looked into her eyes. It seemed he wanted to say something. She put her finger on his mouth to prevent him from uttering words that could tarnish the moment.

"Don't say anything, please. I love you, I want this," she whispered, pushing away her finger from his mouth to caress his face.

"I love you too," he said, smiling at the needless fear of her. That was all he wanted to say.

He accepted the invitation and carefully put his hard organ into her centre.

Sarah moaned by the contrast of the temperatures of their sexes. He was to her like a nice cool breeze that refreshed her hot body, almost feverish, while she, wet and warm, gave his body a sweet feeling of comfort and safety that he was not used to experiencing.

"You make me feel so good," he whispered.

She guided his face to hers and kissed his mouth joining their tongues. He began making slow, gentle movements against her while the girl moved her hips in perfect sync with him. The friction made them gasp and moan, encouraging them to accelerate the pace of their swinging at the same time they kissed and caressed their faces, their bodies, satisfying their desires as if each one was inside the other's mind.

That was new for Sarah. She had never been so closely linked to anyone as she was with the Doctor. She thought that perhaps she had never before truly loved. She looked at his face, his big blue eyes on her, and she knew he was thinking the same thing. That was a feeling both unsettling and wonderful.

The girl experienced a shiver which started in her sex and ran through her body, from head to toe. She began to shake, pressing her fingers against the muscles of his back, unable to retain the most intense moans of pleasure that the Doctor had heard in his long life, realizing he didn't want to stop listening to them.

"Doctor!" she cried, without being aware of nothing else but her own ecstasy and the man who was making that possible.

The name that aroused respect and fear in the whole universe was for her synonymous with the most pure and true feelings that a person can have for another one. He had never heard his name uttered that way. It made him feel loved, desired, essential in the life of that little human girl that every passing second he loved more and more.

Sarah's body relaxed under him.

"Doctor," she whispered panting.

"Almost," he replied.

Still rocking against Sarah he felt how all those feelings he had been holding for so long ended up breaking the Sakkanitta coffin and escaped from the cemetery planet, but it was not a coffin or a cemetery planet, but the body of the Doctor, who felt it was shattered in an intense explosion to be reborn into a new being. It was like a regeneration, but pleasant and preserving his present appearance. His body trembled and he gasped tired. For a moment he stood staring at the ceiling without knowing exactly where he was.

"My love," he heard.

He bowed his head and saw Sarah, who was smiling at him radiantly with wet eyes. He smiled back and, after carefully sliding out of her interior, he dropped his exhausted body beside her. She kissed him tenderly on the lips.

"I was right. It's been wonderful." Her voice was low and moved.

"More than that, Sarah. It has been more than that."

He gently caressed her face, depositing short and repeated kisses. Sarah let out a slight laugh of her mouth.

"What's so funny?" he asked her.

"I'm very happy with you," she replied kissing the tip of his nose.

He gave her a wide and affectionate smile. His cool hand caressed her long hair while he responded in the same way to the kiss that she gave him before on the lips. Sarah perceived that his blue eyes, true reflection of his soul, had now a special brightness.

"It seems today I have set myself to leave you without energy," she said to see him panting. "First your energy of regeneration and now this amazing sex."

"It's normal to feel tired after sex, even for the Time Lords. Anyway, I don't regret anything. I told you seriously, Sarah. I love you like centuries ago that I don't love anybody."

"You're going to make me cry again," she said, indescribably happy.

"Well, now I know how to react," he said smiling, covering their bodies with the blanket and hugging the young journalist.

She reached out and turned off the light before wrapping the Doctor in her arms and kissing him on his heaving chest.

"Good night, my dear Sarah Jane," he said in his deep voice, earning a loving kiss on his chin.

"Sleep well, my Doctor."

She snuggled against his body, trying to hold back tears of joy that soaked her face again and they stood in a tight and relaxed embrace until they surrendered to sleep.


	29. Chapter 29

The consciousness was returning to Sarah slowly. Still with her eyes closed she was remembering the events that occurred the previous day: Dedalion, the fire-eyed creature, the golden and the dark people, dreams and nightmares that mixed with reality and the wonderful night spent with the Doctor. She was alarmed at the thought of that last one was just a dream. She opened her eyes to meet the sleeping face of the Time Lord and notice his arms still around her body. She calmed. Although she wanted to keep hugging him she felt the need to stretch her muscles. She separated from him being careful not to wake him, stretched sitting on the bed and then she stayed watching her dear friend, peacefully asleep, with his naked body half covered by the blanket. His chest was moving to the rhythm of his relaxed breathing. She could spend all day like that.

"Beautiful," she said in low voice. The word came out spontaneously from her mouth.

By having confessed his feelings he had released himself from a great weight he was carrying for many years, pressing his body and his soul. Now he was calmed, even looked younger.

"Today I've gotten to know you really," she thought to herself while looking at him. "Cold and warm, bitter and sweet, storm and calm. A shy man who wants to love and be loved, but what you are is your great curse: Time Lord. Yes, you walk in eternity, and you must do it alone." The sadness invaded Sarah Jane. Why such a good man couldn't become happy? "I'll be with you as long as I have a breath of life."

"The loneliest star in the sky is also the brightest one. But beware: you'll be fine as long as you don't reach it, because when you touch it, it will burn you," said the voice of Sarah's mind.

"Why do you say that now?" the girl asked sadly.

"You think you've started a love story with him, but you've just launched the clock. The countdown has begun."

"The countdown to what?"

"The countdown to the end of your story with him. You two should never have to go beyond friendship," said her mind.

"What are you saying?"

"A Time Lord can't give himself completely to a mere human. You'll get old and die. You'll be lucky if you can live a hundred years, but he will regenerate and live for centuries. You two are separated by many barriers that you cannot destroy," her mind reminded her.

"Do you doubt of his feelings? Look at him. I know that you also love him."

"I don't doubt that he loves you, that's the problem. His worst nightmare is to see you suffer. How do you think he'll react to seeing you suffer because of him?"

"All I know is that he needs me and I need him. No matter how long it lasts, I'll make him happy. It's my decision." Sarah said with determination.

"As you wish, but I have warned you. One day he will listen to his mind. He always does." her mind's voice was silenced and she stood looking at the gallifreyan.

"This is my decision," she whispered to him.

Some time later he opened his eyes. He looked at his empty hands and felt a sense of lack, but he was too sleepy to know what was missing.

"Good morning," he heard a voice beside him.

He turned his head slowly and saw Sarah, watching him smiling. She was what he lacked!

"Ah, there you are," he said, rubbing his eyes with his hands. "Have you been awake long?"

"About twenty minutes," she said.

"Have you been twenty minutes looking at how I sleep?" he was surprised.

"I couldn't help it; it was a vision so beautiful. The Saviour of Worlds sleeping peacefully as if the entire universe was at peace."

"What a bore!" he exclaimed. "What would I do with so much time off?"

"You could do those things you always wanted to do but never had time for it."

"Yes, I could go to Maradur Twenty-five. Lake Emeraltta is ideal for fishing."

"That's good to begin with."

"But I won't spend the rest of my life fishing."

"There'll be more things in your life. You also have dreams and aspirations," Sarah reminded him.

"True," he whispered. "What do you always wanted to do but never had time for?" he asked curiously.

"I always wanted to see the aurora borealis," she said.

"Aurora borealis? You have all the wonders of the universe to explore and what you want is to stay on Earth?"

"Precisely. I still don't know the wonders of my own planet, I can't think about seeing other worlds first."

"Come on, Sarah. Think something a little bigger."

"Okay. I would like to taste the best ice cream in the universe." She said the first nonsense that went through her head, making him start to laugh out loud.

"Oh, Sarah. You're happy with so little."

"Actually I only need one thing to be happy," she said.

"What is it?"

"You."

"You've got me."

"Then I'm happy," she said, kissing his lips sweetly.

He pulled her closer to his body and wrapped his arms around her.

"If I remember correctly you were here," he said with a mock thoughtful tone.

"Yes, it was something like this." She rested her head on his chest. The beats of his two hearts were like a beautiful lullaby that invited her to close her eyes and sleep again.

"Do you know? Last night I wasn't completely honest with you," she confessed, making an effort to stay awake.

"I knew it. You don't like my ears," he said with a serious whisper. She laughed.

"Not that. I love your ears. It was when I said I didn't know what it was like to kiss you for real. Once I stole you a kiss while you slept."

"Did you?"

"I did."

"Then I'll do the same to be tied."

"I won't sleep until you do it," she said. She wanted to be aware of every one of his kisses and caresses.

"You're human; you need sleep more than I need it."

"Oooh, you play with an advantage," she complained, wrinkling her nose in a lovely way.

"And I like it," he said with a wide smile of triumph.

His soft deep voice and the lullaby of his chest were wrapping the girl in a pleasant sleepiness. He probably had intended to take his kiss very soon.

"How long can we stay like this?" she asked drowsily.

"Until we land."

"Oh. When will we land?" her voice didn't hide the sadness of knowing that sooner or later they'd have to get up.

"We didn't take off. We are still on Dedalion."

"What?" She lifted her head to look into his eyes

"I cannot give you the life you deserve, but I can give you time," he whispered, leaning her head on his chest.

He gently caressed her hair and she closed her eyes, revelling in his morning caresses. A glowing smile appeared on his face as he watched her. The warmth he experienced last night inside him had not faded with the arrival of the new day. The simple fact of dawning with Sarah made him feel complete, at peace, immensely happy. There was nothing else for him, only the sweet moment he was having with her and that he wanted to prolong as much as possible. There was no hurry to get up; the universe could wait five minutes more.

"Grrrrrgh!"

The universe maybe, but not Sarah's stomach. She was hungry. The girl opened her eyes, her face red.

"Damn, why now?"

"OK, I get the hint. Time to get up," he said smiling. "You need to eat breakfast, and I need a shower."

"Yeah, me too," she said noticing the smell of sweat in the room.

"Come on, then." Still smiling he took her hand and together they went to the bathroom.

After the nice shower together they went to the kitchen, where they found a big basket filled with fresh fruit and another one with freshly baked sweet buns. It was, undoubtedly, a gratitude gift from Dedalion's people.

"Look! The breakfast" he exclaimed. "Fantastic, I didn't feel like cooking."

A white smoke being appeared from nowhere and, after floating around them a couple of times, it vanished.

"Who do you think it was?" Sarah asked.

"I'm pretty sure it was Anya," he replied.

"Yes, me too," she smiled.

They quietly took their breakfast of buns with fruit and they went to the console room, where the Doctor set the coordinates of their next destination. That had been an unforgettable day for them both, but it was time to return to their 'daily life,' a life that they knew that it wouldn't be the same.

"I'll miss Dedalion," Sarah said. "What began as the worst nightmare became the most wonderful of dreams."

"A dream. Why don't you say to her it was all just a dream?" the voice of the Doctor's mind returned back to disturb his newfound peace.

"Because last night I realized that I'm empty without her."

"You'll make her miserable."

"I'm clumsy in matters of love but I want to make her happy. She's giving me this chance and I won't miss it. Not this time."

"Is it your last word?" his mind asked.

"It is." He heard nothing more in his head. He put his hand to his chest and sighed with relief.

"Pain?" Sarah asked, worried.

He looked at the hand on his chest and shook his head smiling.

"Happiness. Don't worry, Sarah. That wound is closed thanks to you."

"I haven't done anything," said the young woman raising her eyebrows.

He smiled sweetly at the girl, small wonder of creation unaware of her own greatness. She had done for him much more than she imagined. She had given him her friendship, respect and love, thus banishing all darkness that inhabited his hearts since the day he left home. She also had bared his soul, discovering a part of him that was hidden and she had claimed it for herself. They two were practically one being. There would be a before and an after Sarah Jane Smith in the Doctor's life.

The TARDIS landed softly.

"We landed," said the Doctor.

"Where?"

"Greenland. Earth. Twentieth Century. Wrap up well."

"What are we doing in Greenland?"

"We are going to see the aurora borealis. Then we can go to get the best ice cream in the universe, if you like."

She grinned at the nice gesture that he was having with her and she wanted to thank in the same way.

"Sounds good, but promise me one thing," she said.

"What do you want?" he asked taking his hat from the coat stand.

"I want us to go fishing to Maradur Twenty-five."

Dedicating his most affective and charming smile to her, he put on his hat and opened the door of the TARDIS taking the girl by the hand.

The End

* * *

**Author's Note:** It has been a long story that I had wanted to write for a long time. Thank you very much for your support and your patience and I hope you've enjoyed it.


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